Socialists table proposal for gender parity in federal government
Francophone socialist party PS is tabling a proposal to amend Belgium’s Constitution to impose gender parity in the federal government.
The proposal comes in the wake of criticism of the new executive, which has only four women out of 15 members, with no women on the Council of Ministers.
PS, which is now in opposition, also wants to “reflect” on ensuring parity within the council, something that is not defined by the Constitution. The party says it proposed the measure during the previous legislature, but the ruling parties failed to reach agreement on the institutional and democratic renewal aspects.
The members of the council are put forward by their parties. Flemish socialists Vooruit did not nominate a woman, while the two largest parties, conservatives N-VA and liberals MR, only nominated one each.
Photo controversy
There was widespread criticism on Monday after the new government was photographed at the Palace with the female ministers largely hidden behind their male colleagues. New photos were released on Tuesday.
The green parties also want to enshrine a gender balance within the government. The Ecolo-Groen group in the Chamber of Representatives has tabled a draft revision to this effect, it announced on Tuesday.
“We thought that the time when men completely dominated a government was over,” said Groen MEP Meyrem Almaci. “But the De Wever government is forcing this measure on us.”
The rule enshrined in the constitution in 2002 says that a government cannot be made up entirely of men or women. However, the preparatory works state that governments are free to introduce greater guaranteed representation, which some federated entities have since done.
In Wallonia and the Wallonia-Brussels Federation, at least one-third of ministers must be of a different gender to the majority. The greens want to transpose this rule to all Belgium’s governments.
'Anti-women'
The number of women in the federal government is also the subject of debate within the coalition parties. On Tuesday, Vanessa Matz of Les Engagés said she backed the idea of a quota.
“We impose a whole series of quotas, and this is legitimate, in institutions such as local authorities,” said Matz, the new minister in charge of Public Enterprises, on Bel RTL. “It’s a step we have to take. You have to force it so that it happens naturally afterwards.”
“This government is not only anti-social, it is de facto anti-women,” feminist association Vie Féminine said on Tuesday. It criticised the “complete lack of consideration for the realities of women in this country”.
"No thought has been given to the causes of the explosion in long-term illnesses and to the very gendered nature of this phenomenon"
Beyond the optics, “it is the substance of this agreement that worries us”, it said. Planned pension reform will mean that “many women will not have access to a full pension or even the minimum pension, at a time when the pension gap is already 25 per cent”.
It also pointed to measures aimed at the long-term sick, despite the fact that 60 per cent of people on invalidity benefit are women, saying: “No thought has been given to the causes of the explosion in long-term illnesses and to the very gendered nature of this phenomenon.”
'Bigger problems'
Defence minister Theo Francken of N-VA played down the criticism. “Apart from the fact that the world is on fire and so there are bigger problems, this criticism surprises me,” he said on X.
“If a progressive party like Vooruit chooses two men for its two ministerial posts, the only question asked in the process should be this: are they competent? Whether they are men or women is irrelevant in my view,” he said.
The Flemish government is made up of six female and three male ministers. “You didn’t hear anyone complaining about that. And rightly so, because those women are all absolutely excellent,” Francken said.
Members of the new federal government, 3 and 4 February 2025 © BELGA PHOTO BENOIT DOPPAGNE
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