Wiesbaden (dpa/lhe) - Hesse's state government wants to improve equal opportunities for women and men in public administration with a reform of the Equal Rights Act. Among other things, the women's and equal opportunities officers would be strengthened in their work, explained Minister of Social Affairs Kai Klose (Greens) on Tuesday in the state parliament in Wiesbaden. The law also enshrines better support for employees with educational or care responsibilities.
AfD MP Arno Enners pointed out that equality "always starts in the mind". No matter how precisely a law or ordinance is formulated, discrimination will still find a way. In the free economy and in public administration, when filling vacancies and management positions, decisions should always be based on suitability and performance, and this should be done objectively and without considering gender, he explained.
Nadine Gersberg from the SPD parliamentary group called for the amendment to the law to be more specific. There are still many municipalities that do not release internal women's representatives from their work for the task. This is illegal, but no one controls it, she criticized. "Some women's representatives can't even afford to buy specialist literature, let alone take part in further training."
