Initiative

Measures to promote Gender equality

Summary of the initiative

The Vienna Hospital Association (VHA or KAV in German) is one of the largest healthcare facilities in Europe, consisting of 11 hospitals, 11 geriatric centres and 3 nursing homes, with 32,000 employees looking after the wellbeing of the patients.

Their central measures put in place by VHA with regard to gender quality include:

• Follow-up of the Vienna Gender Equality Action Plan 2010-2012 through appointment of contact persons for each department with content-related competencies in the organisation and the setting-up of a broad communication network on a long-term basis (after 2012);
• Hosting and financing of the annual meetings held by the female contact persons of the Vienna Hospital Association in order to increase their professional and personal skills;
• Project “Gesund arbeiten ohne Grenzen” targeting women working in the low-wage hospital sector (2009-2012).
• Project “Vielfältig und Gesund - Frauen im KAV“ targeting women in the low-wage sector of geriatric centres/nursing homes and  continuing the previous project “Gesund arbeiten ohne Grenzen” in selected hospitals as well as targeting on health care multipliers by strengthening empowerment and offering training and personal support for women within these groups;
• Evaluation of the since 1995 existing “career break returners’ seminars” of the KAV for employees of the management, technology and IT sectors and increase of awareness of the management in order to achieve accurate and complete applications.

Further to the above measures, VHA put in place other decentralised initiatives, such as: 

• The use of gender-related language with reference to the guidelines 2011 of the municipal authority ;
• Information on regulations concerning the process “from parental leave to the re-entry into the job”;
• The adoption of a standardised gender check (gender mainstreaming) in order to determine the awareness level and the gender equality objectives of the company;
• The visualisation and strengthening of the female contact persons in their influence in order to be the contact point for the employees in gender equality questions;
• Education monitoring concerning the relationship between men and women by participating in education programmes and by distributing the budget as well as the participation in a more gender-sensitive way;
• Cooperation in general decision-making processes between women and men;
• The involvement of female contact persons in hearings for selection of management and general directors’ positions;
• More female lecturers in action.