Minister in open letter to the professionals: Take on more responsibility!

Door

april 5, 2019

– It goes bad with equality. The development is almost quiet, says Eva Kjer Hansen (V).

Now the calls she in an open letter to trade unions to take part in the responsibility to get something done about it.

in Order to get put to speed on gender equality, the trade union DJØF asked the politicians to make a ‘ligestillingsløfte’ to do something purposefully to get more women in management.

It has provoked the minister, who now has sent an open letter to the three unions to ask them to look in their own ranks and find out what they really even do – and can do in the future – in order to promote equality.

– For the law can not stand alone if we must get into the goal. There must be a change of culture and traditions on the labour market, and the trade unions need to get out into the light and be the change – instead of passing the buck to the politicians, she says to Ekstra Bladet.

Read more of the letter further down …

Denmark is one of the few countries in the world, where we legally have things in place, and there is formal equality. But the real equality is still lacking.

– It is disheartening to see that f.ex. still only 15 percent of women in the topledelser, that very few men take extended maternity leave, and that the engineers ‘ union IDA has recently determined that the newly qualified women in the field serving at 1,300 kronor less per month than their male counterparts.

– Now send you as ’the monkey’ back to the unions, why?

– When we dive into the numbers, it is disheartening to see that we still have such a gender-segregated labour market. There still is a tremendously outnumbered by women in directorships and executive management team, and the unexplained pay gap continues to be high.

When we now formally have sorted things, we need to find out what it is that prevents the development, and who can move us forward to the achievement of equality by taking on more responsibility.

It says the trade unions to the minister’s letter:

Edith Jakobsen, arbejdslivspolitisk chief in WRITING: Just legal jauntily by the minister

In the letter, langer, minister Eva Kjer Hansen out for you in relation to whether In doing enough to break the outdated notions of leaders as men, and not just a recruit in the closed network. What do you think of it?

– We have worked with the issues for years, and it is something we address in many contexts, and the political, so we have to greatly focus on.

– But out of focus, what can you even do better to change it?

– I think the, that the whole letter bears witness to the politicians – the minister in particular – slider responsibility. It becomes an individualization of the problems that we ourselves have to lift something, which basically is a structural and societal problem, that we as a union can not lift alone.

– We can do something in relation to addressing and querying it for our members, but the individual can not stand alone with the responsibility to break down cultural, structural and psychological barriers, as there is in this area. It is not reasonable to expect that individuals alone must fight against the conditions that have characterized us all along for years.

– the minister writes that ’there must other than legislation’. Can address the task?

– It is just legally bold of her. What is her job description, if not to legislate? One can not only kick the ball ahead and abdicate his responsibility as a minister.

– It is an indictment of the minister. She says that the law is there, but if it does not move anything, will not change the law? You will typically not stand by in other areas. It is usually the case that, to make legislation in order to promote or change a situation. If you had a law, for example, for the social sector, which did not solve a concrete problem, then no one would politicians say, ‘never mind, we lets just stand for’.

Thomas Damkjær Petersen, president of the IDA: Quite ok to get our ideas

– the minister writes in the letter, In which trade unions need to take greater responsibility for gender equality – requires more than legislation. Is it ok?

– It’s quite alright, that she would like to have ideas from us. I just hope that it means that they do not even can find ideas in the ministry of gender equality. But actually, I think that it is fine that we will be taken on the advice. We would really like to help to rectify the imbalance.

– specifically for us, so it’s all about the pay gap between newly qualified male and female engineers (1300 kroner, ed.) – and what do we do to change it. For it must be changed – of course men and women have the same wages for the same work.

– What do you do then?

– We advise, among other things, in connection with the hiring. Many are calling in to us when they need to have their first job. We tell women what they are worth – and stresses that they are as much worth as men.

– But it is a cultural change, we need to do. For it is inside the women’s heads, that they don’t think they are worth as much as the men. And such a cultural change takes not only a day or a night. It takes time, says Thomas Damkjær Petersen, and pointing at IDA’s efforts to get more women into management, because it is also a challenge in the engineering industry.

Henrik Bach Mortensen, director in the Leaders: the Responsibility must be shared

the Leaders have 4. april sent a letter back to the minister, which recognises her commitment to gender equality, the Leaders believe – as the minister – that there is a need for more women in management.

– We need to draw on all the resources we can, if we are to maintain the welfare and prosperity of the society, says Henrik Bach Mortensen.

– What suggests In as the minister to focus on?

– A point is maternity leave, how we think, that the last 32 weeks of maternity leave to be shared between the mother and the father – 16 weeks for each. Using the families of this option, waive the right to maternity pay.

– It mentions the minister in his letter and points out that this option is not being used by the men, even if it is there?

– It may be because the system is as it is. It is precisely when the children bring in, to the women being put behind in their earnings, and career-wise. Some of what we can do, without interfering in the families ‘ right to hold free, is just to say that we will earmark the sickness allowance. For us, this is an equally big task for mother and father.

– in general; what do you think about that the minister plays the ball on to you?

– We would like to come up with initiatives, and we will also really like that she came with some gambit.

– So it is fine that she puts part of the responsibility over to you and say, that other than the legislation?

– It is a responsibility that must be shared between the families, society and businesses. So it is quite in order.