In Vienna, it is not only urban spaces that are developed with gender in mind. All aspects of public life, including transportation and language, are influenced by the city's status as an inclusive and gender-neutral destination.
Walking through Ruhmannplatz, one of the most famous squares in Vienna, Austria, you may see an outdoor platform with the label of Mädchenbühne (Women's Stage), which girls from nearby schools ask for when asked what they wanted from the city.
The women's stage was complemented by a fitness station, a playground and more than 50 new trees, which reopened last year after a gender-sensitive redesign. But in Vienna, it's not just urban spaces that develop with gender in mind. All aspects of public life, including transportation and language, are influenced by the city's status as an inclusive and gender-neutral destination.
The strategy adopted by Vienna to achieve this goal is called "gender mainstreaming". Ursula Bauer, director of the Division of Gender Mainstreaming, describes it as a tool to achieve gender equality on the basis of the structure, environment and foundations of gender equality.
An outdoor platform in Ruhmann Square with the logo of the Women's Stage. Image: Facebook
This differs from the women's policy, she said, in that it ensures that regulations and procedures take into account structural differences that stem primarily from the traditional gender roles of men and women. "The women's policy is the restoration effort, while gender mainstreaming is the preventive measure," Bauer said.
She explained that the department pays attention to gender gap data and provides guidelines and training to ensure that government services are acutely aware of gender issues. Over the years, they have also established a network of gender experts in key areas, with Bauer likening the cross-sectoral role of the sector to a watchdog to ensure that gender inequality is taken into account in all departments of municipality. "No one can escape," she joked, "and we're like a spider's web." ”
In practice, they took many forms, such as ensuring that government agencies communicated in gender-sensitive language, or adding illustrations of men with children to public transport indicating that seats were reserved for parents. Visitors to Vienna may also notice that the city paves wide sidewalks for mothers with strollers or children walking through the city.
Another key area is urban planning. Gender planning specialist Eva Kail is key to ensuring that Vienna is one of the first cities to adopt gender as the shaping criterion for public space. Inspired by feminist planning, Kyle began exploring the subject 30 years ago and garnered budget and political support to prioritize it. "It's time to look at the whole city from a female perspective," she said.
Kyle began collecting data on how and by whom Vienna's public spaces were used, and found that women's perspectives were often left out. She explains that the design of male-dominated urban planners is based on male interests and their daily life experiences, which means that the views of other groups are often overlooked.
Kyle noticed the lack of girlish perspectives in urban parks, and she and her team worked on how to make these urban spaces more attractive. As a result, large areas used for the football pitch were divided into smaller spaces for multiple groups to play; and additional rest areas such as hammocks were created.
Creating additional rest areas such as hammocks in the park has increased the number of women coming to the park. Image: pexels
The new park design, which was tested in six pilot projects in 1999 and 2000, also addresses many women's safety concerns. "We made sure the main road was well lit, as straight as possible and not too close to the bushes." She said.
The results show that these initiatives have been successful. "They really work," Kyle says, "and more and more girls are using the park, and they're taking up more space in the park." "Visitors to Vienna now see that every new or renovated park in Vienna follows the same principles.
The planner said she is often asked how gender-mainstream urban design is found in cities. "When it's done well, it's invisible," she says, "a well-functioning public space that doesn't stand out without a group absence or difficulty in using." ”
But sometimes Vienna's public spaces are deliberately used to make women more prominent. For example, in the city's urban development project, Seestadt Aspern, most streets, squares and parks are named after women, such as Janis Joplin (American rock singer), in stark contrast to the historically male-dominated naming style.
While Vienna's gender mainstreaming approach has helped it top the quality of life rankings, Birgit Sauer, a professor of political science at the University of Vienna, says the same degree elsewhere in Austria has not been implemented. "There is a gap between rural areas and small cities and Vienna," she said. ”
Sauer said that despite Austria's tradition of gender equality, women in Vienna have more access to support, such as free childcare, while elsewhere in Austria, free childcare tends to be costly and has limited opening hours. "It means that if moms want to, they can go to work," she said. But she added that gender income disparities are still widespread.
Many visitors will think of Vienna as a very traditional society as it is known for hosting formal balls, but the professor said multiple factors have contributed to Vienna's lead over Central and Western Europe in terms of gender equality. Sauer explained that back in the 1970s, the city had many active women's groups, there was also a history of social democratic government support for creating social equality, and LGBTQ groups had a lot of activism and political support.
Berni Ledinski, Vienna coordinator of the Gay City Pass, agrees, a tourist ticket for gay and transgender tourists. Leidinsky, who also played the drag queen, said, "Vienna is a really safe space for gay people." Not only are there plenty of gay-friendly cafes, bars, shops and museums, but there is also a department within the city that specializes in combating LGBTQ discrimination. ”
For Ledinsky, an important moment for Vienna's gay community was Conchita Wurst, the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2014, who cross-dressed up. "It did have a big impact, and marketing campaigns started to include same-sex couples," he said. ”
Vienna added the logo of same-sex couples to the traffic lights. Image: Getty Images
The event also inspired the Vienna municipality to make the gay community more prominent in public spaces, for example, by including illustrations of same-sex couples in traffic signs. But while the gay community has made a lot of progress, Leidinsky said, "there's always room for improvement, especially in terms of recognition of transgender and transgender people." He said.
And reality seems to be taking an important step in that direction. Vienna recently launched its first transgender crosswalk, located near the Vienna General Hospital, the country's only transgender healthcare center. Mras believes it will be an important sign that will help open up a dialogue about gender diversity and make transgender people more visible in Vienna, "which is the first step".