The legal position of women in Austria improved since the middle of the 1970s. With regard to

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...

, the priority in

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

is based on the equal treatment of both genders, rather than having equal rights only. Thus, Austrian women benefit from their government's attempt to compensate for gender-specific inequality of burdens. However, the concept of traditional roles, influenced by

Roman Catholicism in Austria , native_name_lang = de , image = Wien_-_Stephansdom_(3).JPG , imagewidth = 200px , alt = , caption = St. Stephen's Cathedral, Vienna. , abbreviation = , type = ...

, is still prevalent within Austrian society.

Suffrage

First attempts to improve political participation by women were made during the

Revolution of 1848 The Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Springtime of the Peoples or the Springtime of Nations, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe starting in 1848. It remains the most widespread revolutionary wave in Europe ...

by the Wiener Demokratischer Frauenverein, but the association was short-lived. The struggle for suffrage began anew with the formation of

Allgemeiner Österreichischer Frauenverein The ( AÖFV, English: General Austrian Women's Association)This article generally uses native German names, but gives the English translations in brackets. was an Austrian women's organization for women's suffrage, active between 1893 and 1919. ...

in 1893.

Women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...

was granted in 1919, after the breakdown of the Habsburg monarchy.

Marriage and family life

As in other European countries, marriage was traditionally based on the husband's legal authority over the wife. Until the late 1970s, married women's freedoms were legally restricted.''Contemporary Western European Feminism'', by

Gisela Kaplan Gisela Kaplan is an Australians, Australian ethologist who primarily specialises in ornithology and primatology. She is a professor emeritus in animal behaviour at the University of New England (Australia), University of New England, Australia ...

, p. 133 Austria made marital rape illegal in 1989. Austria was one of the last Western countries to decriminalize

adultery Adultery (from Latin ''adulterium'') is extramarital sex that is considered objectionable on social, religious, moral, or legal grounds. Although the sexual activities that constitute adultery vary, as well as the social, religious, and legal ...

, in 1997. In 2004 marital rape became a state offense meaning it can be prosecuted by the state even in the absence of a complaint from the spouse, with procedures being similar to stranger rape. In recent years, new ways of living have emerged, with unmarried

cohabitation Cohabitation is an arrangement where people who are not married, usually couples, live together. They are often involved in a romantic or sexually intimate relationship on a long-term or permanent basis. Such arrangements have become increas ...

increasing, as more young people are questioning traditional ways. In the European Values Study (EVS) of 2008 the percentage of Austrian respondents who agreed with the assertion that "Marriage is an outdated institution" was 30.5%, and as of 2012, 41.5% of children were born outside of marriage. The

total fertility rate The total fertility rate (TFR) of a population is the average number of children that would be born to a woman over her lifetime if: # she were to experience the exact current age-specific fertility rates (ASFRs) through her lifetime # she were t ...

is 1.46 children/women (as of 2015), which is below the replacement rate of 2.1.

Employment

Most women are employed, but many work part-time. In the European Union, only the Netherlands has more women working part-time. As in other German speaking areas of Europe, social norms regarding gender roles are quite conservative. In 2011,

Jose Manuel Barroso Jose is the English transliteration of the Hebrew and Aramaic name ''Yose'', which is etymologically linked to ''Yosef'' or Joseph. The name was popular during the Mishnaic and Talmudic periods. *Jose ben Abin *Jose ben Akabya *Jose the Galilean ...

, then president of the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body ...

, stated "Germany, but also Austria and the Netherlands, should look at the example of the northern countries ..that means removing obstacles for women, older workers, foreigners and low-skilled job-seekers to get into the workforce".

Infrastructure changes

In the early 1990s, most of the pedestrian traffic and public transportation in Vienna was accounted for by women. Eva Kail organized “Who Owns Public Space – Women’s Everyday Life in the City” in 1991. This exhibit, coupled with a 1999 survey conducted by the City Women’s Office, demonstrated that women, in general, had more varied destinations and needed safety measures in travel more than the men in the city. These led to a change in Vienna’s urban planning. Some of the changes implemented by the city include widening the sidewalks and adding pedestrian overpasses in certain areas. Vienna started the Frauen-Werk-Stadt, a project to produce housing complexes designed by female architects specifically to account for the needs of women. These complexes have easy access to public transportation, as well as on site facilities, such as kindergartens and pharmacies. Similar efforts with a heavy emphasis on aiding women were conducted following Vienna’s success. The changes in infrastructure served to significantly increase pedestrian traffic. As a result, the streets were more densely packed with witnesses of potential crimes. This served to reduce the amount of minor crimes committed in public spaces. Linda McDowell argued that such efforts are counterproductive, and act to deepen the existing class struggles in locations such as Vienna. McDowell’s main contention is these efforts were not careful enough to account for both women’s rights, as well as poverty.

References

External links

A Celebration of Women Writers {{DEFAULTSORT:Women In Austria Social history of Austria