Renate Heitz: “Improving the lives of women”

Renate Heitz, Ansfelden’s Vice Mayor and new regional women chairwoman of the SPÖ Women of Upper Austria, about her political agenda.

Why did you take over the state chairmanship of the SPÖ women in these difficult times?
Heitz: I was nominated for the function in November 2019, but could not be elected as planned in April 2020 because the national women’s conference scheduled for that time could not be held due to the first lockdown. I am not afraid that times have not become easier for women since then. On the contrary: I see it as a special mandate for a women’s policy that improves women’s lives.

What politics does Renate Heitz stand for?
I stand for a policy that enables women to live a self-determined life in freedom: good, all-day child education facilities, fair pay also for activities that are considered typically female and thus offer women financial independence and a reduction in working hours, thus unpaid work between the sexes can be distributed more fairly.

What are your priorities in 2021?
The thematic focus will be the fair distribution of work, time and money between the sexes. We will not accept that women carry us through times of crisis invisibly and without thanks, but ultimately have none of it.

What about the female offspring in the SPÖ?
In view of the active, young women in our youth organizations, who are also represented on the state women’s board or on the state parliament list, I am not worried.

Is it harder for a woman today than it was 20 years ago?
Definitely not in politics. Our predecessors did some preparatory work, from which we benefit today. Mayors and party leaders were unthinkable 20 years ago, but today they are an accepted reality. In everyday life we ​​have to make sure that the backlash that resulted from the corona-related withdrawal of women into private life does not continue after the crisis. We didn’t have this situation 20 years ago.

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