Helena Dalli, the European Commissioner for Equality, declared that the Grand Duchy has already achieved a lot in terms of equality between men and women. The European Commissioner especially welcomed the law on accessibility during her visit.
However, one issue that is still topical, and not only in Luxembourg, is that of salary transparency, respectively the salary gap between men and women. According to Dalli, the problem could not be solved immediately; on the one hand transparency would be needed, but on the other it would not be enough:
By August 2022, all EU Member States must have implemented the Work-Life Balance Directive, she explains. This would not only increase the number of women in the labour market, but also encourage them to stay in the labour market for longer. This would also help to reduce the gender pay gap as well as the the pension gap, which is currently even bigger, she notes.
Violence against women and quotas were two other issues discussed on Friday in the Chamber of Deputies.
Everyone’s talents should be used, the European Commissioner stressed. And nobody should be excluded. This would not only be a moral issue, says Dalli, but there is also an economic argument behind it.
Discrimination against people based on disability, ethnic background, or LGTBIQ membership would be a waste of talent. It pushes people away and does not allow them to be part of society, and they cannot contribute to that society either, she argues.
The new law on accessibility, which has been passed in Luxembourg to make the country more accessible by 2032, is a step in the right direction and has been welcomed by the European Commissioner. The president of the Commission for Family and Integration, Max Hahn, was delighted and said that with this law, buildings will have to be accessible to all in Luxembourg.
Digitalisation would also play an important role in achieving better inclusion. However, care should be taken not to forget the elderly, Max Hahn added.
