DISTRICT OF LINZ-LAND. Since 1999, the proportion of women mayors in Upper Austria has increased sixfold. The number of local managers has grown from 8 to 49. With a share of 11.2 percent, Upper Austria ranks just behind Lower Austria at the forefront this year in a comparison of the federal states.
There are currently 2,095 mayors in Austria. 198 of them are women. Most of the female mayors are in Lower Austria (74; 12.9 percent), followed by Upper Austria (49; 11.2 percent), Styria (22; 7.7 percent) and Tyrol (17; 6.1 percent). There are currently 12 (7 percent) mayors in Burgenland, 10 (7.5 percent) in Carinthia, 8 (6.7 percent) in Salzburg and 6 (6.3 percent) in Vorarlberg. The share in Austria is a total of 9.5 percent. The first female mayor of Upper Austria was Johanna Preinstorfer (ÖVP), who became mayor of Ohlsdorf (Gmunden district) in 1982. The current youngest mayor is 31-year-old Nicole Leitenmüller from Lembach im Mühlkreis (Rohrbach district). Leitenmüller was elected as the new mayor by the local council in May 2020 at the age of 30. This record could soon be broken by the 25-year-old mayoral candidate Nicole Zehetner-Grasl (ÖVP) from Hofkirchen.
Two mayors in the district in armchairs
So far there have been five mayors in the Linz-Land district: Eva Reisinger (ÖVP; 1995 to 2000) from St. Florian, Erika Weinlechner (SPÖ; 1997 to 2002) from Kirchberg-Thening, Ulrike Tauber (SPÖ; 2003 to 2013) from Oftering, Gisela Peutlberger-Naderer (SPÖ; 2003 to 2005) from Kematen an der Krems and Ernestine Haginger (SPÖ; 2003 to 2015) from Niederneukirchen. Sabine Naderer-Jelinek (SPÖ) in Leonding and Jutta Enzinger (ÖVP) in Allhaming have been sitting in the mayor’s chair since 2019.
“We need more courage”
“I couldn’t imagine a better job than that of mayor. After I have received great support from my husband and parents, my job can be combined very well with my family, ”says the mayor of Leondingen, Sabine Naderer-Jelinek (SPÖ), with conviction. “In any case, we women can be loving mothers and at the same time successful at work. We are quite resilient, some just need a little more courage. ”
The main topic is the compatibility of family and work
“Representative democracy is very important to me, in other words, I tried to cover all age groups and both genders with my team for the municipal council elections,” says Hofkirchen mayor candidate Nicole Zehetner-Grasl (ÖVP). “An 11.2 percent share of women is a start for me, but there is still room for improvement. When recruiting my local council candidates, I noticed that it is often very difficult for many women to combine their political commitment with their family and their job. I was often unable to win women over to politics because they feared that they would not be able to get everything under one roof in the future. I also see that there needs to be a change in the way the population thinks – I am often asked myself whether my candidacy does not exclude family planning or whether that is at all compatible. I often wonder if a male candidate would be asked the same question? Probably not. I am therefore convinced that we can create a higher proportion of women in politics by improving the compatibility of work, family and political commitment and by breaking up old thought patterns (with regard to family planning, etc.), ”she says.
Feminine issues get a better hearing
Helga Frohn, NEOS candidate for mayor in Enns, agrees with a quote from former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher: “If you want to have something to say about politics, ask a man. If you want something done, ask a woman. ”She too would like more women in politics. “Topics such as teaching and education, childcare and environmental protection would get more attention because these are topics that move mothers,” said Frohn.
“It’s not about better”
But she doesn’t believe that women can do anything better in politics than their male colleagues. “I believe that this is not about better or more efficient, politics is about diversity and broadening of horizons, about harmony and interaction as well as about uniting the strengths of men and women as well as city government and opposition and in the best interests of our citizens – Seniors, parents, adolescents and children – to act to create a brighter, more sustainable and safer future, ”said Frohn.
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