Interview on Women's Day

Schmiedtbauer: “I am a pragmatic feminist”

Women's Affairs Minister Simone Schmiedtbauer in an interview with the "Krone" newspaper.

(Bild: Christian Jauschowetz)

On International Women's Day, Styrian State Councillor for Women Simone Schmiedtbauer presents herself as a "pragmatic feminist". In an interview with the "Krone" newspaper, she talks about financial advice, murders of women, the pending violence clinic in Leoben - and about personal experiences with sexism.

"Krone": You have only been a women's regional councillor for five months. What qualifies you for the office?
Simone Schmiedtbauer: The first thing is that I am a woman myself. We women have to talk about the issues that concern and burden us. I am also the mother of two daughters - and I have been able to get to know many facets of professional life. I was an employee in a bank, I have the perspective of a self-employed farmer and forester and I started my political career in local politics. When I became deputy mayor as a career changer, an acquaintance asked me whether I was just there for the photo or whether I was serious. Then I thought to myself, I want to prove it to him.

There have already been seven murders of women in Austria this year. Do you support the opinion of Women's Affairs Minister Susanne Raab that enough is already being done to protect women from violence?
When we talk about how many top organizations we have, then I can share her opinion. But there is always room for improvement. The shocking thing for us in Styria in 2023 was that not a single one of these women had contacted anyone in advance and asked for help. We have to get to the bottom of this: How can we reach these women? We meet regularly in the form of a violence protection advisory board, where experts from different areas talk about their experiences. We have also commissioned a study to shed light on the environment of the women and the violent men. In this way, we want to learn for the next cases.

Provincial councillors Simone Schmiedtbauer and Doris Kampus appeal to people to use emergency numbers.

(Bild: steiermark.at/binder)

You want to open a second violence outpatient clinic in Leoben this year in addition to Graz. When will this happen?
As far as this is concerned, we are currently in coordination talks with the federal government together with Doris Kampus. We hope to be able to present something concrete before the summer, but we can't give a date yet. Above all, it is important to find the right doctors for the violence outpatient clinic.

Have you already experienced assaultive situations yourself?
Only once have I had an encounter with a man who touched me in places that I found more than inappropriate when greeting me. I addressed this immediately and forcefully. That was a no-go for me. I still meet this man today and both sides have no problem with a hug or a greeting kiss - only today I am asked if I want to.

The figures show that Styria has an enormously high rate of part-time employment - we are even at the top of Austria for childless women. This has an impact on pensions.

Frauenlandesrätin Simone Schmiedtbauer

You are also a youth councillor. What else needs to be done for young women?
I focus strongly on financial advice for the next generation. I want young people to learn how to handle money. Practical things like this often take a back seat at school. We are doing a six-part series called "Financial Woman", with more and more young people attending the events in different regions. Why is this so important to me? Because the figures show that Styria has an enormously high rate of part-time employment - we even lead the way in Austria when it comes to childless women. This has an impact on pensions. In addition, there are still many women who sign guarantees - out of blind trust in a partner. And there are even still some women in Styria who don't have their own account or are not even authorized signatories.

Simone Schmiedtbauer is a farmer from Hitzendorf and was mayor of her home municipality for five years.

(Bild: Sepp Pail)

Who does the housework in your home?
My husband has many talents, he is very good at cooking, for example. But he was also brought up by his mother in this respect. The only thing I still do is laundry, and that is sacred to me. He tried it once, but it wasn't very suitable in terms of color. So we won't develop this skill any further, he does everything else anyway.

Keyword gender pay gap: how can this be closed in Styria?
By raising awareness. I accept it if a woman only wants to work part-time, but we have to point out the consequences. I don't want women to slide into poverty in old age, and I want young people to be motivated to find a job. A job that is enjoyable, pays the right salary and also allows them to buy property. Because property also protects against poverty in old age.

Would you support a state government that banned gender-bending, as was recently implemented in Lower Austria?
No, I would not support that. I also don't know why we are even having this discussion. I don't understand at all why we still have to talk about certain things today, because I take them for granted. As a pragmatic feminist, as I call myself, I always try to use gender.