Groen leader and federal MP Meyrem Almaci gives her exclusive take for The Brussels Times on the lack of women in the new Belgian Government led by Bart De Wever.
It was a remarkable moment. When the new Prime Minister was asked for his reaction to the particularly male composition of the government, his answer was: "well, it's a shame".
As if it had ‘just happened' to him. As if the composition of the core cabinet was not simply the choice of each of the male party leaders. That choice includes a combination of a male prime minister, a male speaker of parliament, an 'all-male' core cabinet, and ultimately a total imbalance of 4 women to 11 men in 2025. Not to mention the complete absence of politicians with a diverse background.
The situation is quite clear. Despite all the state reforms, the federal level is still the most influential political level. The posts are reserved for the top politicians. The core cabinet consisting of vice-presidents even more so. And apparently, in the minds of these gentlemen, these all ‘happen’ to be men today… There is a Walloon proverb: Les excuses sont faits pour s’en servir [translation: excuses are made to be used]. Anyone who can transfer Jan Jambon to the federal level after a disastrous period as regional prime minister can do the same with, for instance, a regional state secretary like Zuhal Demir.
The response of the new minister of defence, Theo Francken, was clear: it is merely a coincidence, and the appointed positions were all distributed by simple merit. Well well. As if there was no competent woman to be found with enough merit to hold the position of vice-prime minister. Apparently they have all just vanished after the last government disappeared. As if the decades of strong academical research that have shown that women face structural barriers no longer hold value. No, its all just “coincidence”.
New ministers Jan Jambon, Vincent Van Peteghem, Frank Vandenbroucke, Maxime Prevot pictured before the oath ceremony of the new Prime Minister and members of the federal government at the Royal Palace, Sunday 02 February 2025, in Brussels. Credit: Belga
Let me cite Katleen De Stobbeleir, professor leadership at the Vlerick Business School: “When only four of the 15 ministers are women and no woman gets a post as deputy prime minister, it is surely quite a coincidence that such choices repeatedly turn out in favour of men. Strange that women rarely get chance on their side. That's because there is no such thing as chance here. It is a painful reflection of a culture that systematically excludes women from positions of power.”
This game of chance is not without effect. Because, guess what: the government composition matches their policies. The coalition agreement illustrates a profound lack of sensitivity for the impact of their decisions on women and minorities in society.
And although many measures are still unclear, it is already clear that women will most definitely lose out on pensions because they are more likely to work part-time or work in employment domains that are especially targeted by the new government. Today, more than 40% of all female employees work part-time. Among civil servant 54% is female, among teachers as much as 75%. All these groups will be harshly affected by these pension cuts.
Prime Minister Bart De Wever and King Philippe pictured after the oath ceremony of the new Prime Minister and members of the Federal Government at the Royal Palace, Monday 03 February 2025, in Brussels. Credit: Belga
The commitment to further flexibility and the annualization of working hours will only make it more difficult to combine work and family, and while this is likely to lead to more burn-outs, the prospect in this area is mainly one of repressive policies. Combine this with today's lack of childcare and the picture becomes clearer.
The cuts in social benefits will very certainly deteriorate the position of single parents, many of them women, who are a clear financial precarious group with a high risk of poverty. In 2023, a whopping 25% of single parents lived in poverty in Flanders alone.
And it goes on… The axe will fall on Unia, the independent former Center for Equal Opportunities and Opposition to Racism, which will have to make do with 25 percent less funding, it is a riddle how they will manage realising their legal obligations. The Institute for Gender Equality is being audited by the Court of Auditors.
And what about the sudden introduction of a uniform for federal employees? With or without a headscarf? Because if it is the latter, then the chances on the job market will not increase but decrease for this group of job seekers. Not to mention the signal it will send about the acceptance of the reality of diversity in our society.
So no, this all-male core cabinet is no coincidence. It sends a strong message on how this group of leaders perceive the order and hierarchy in society. A message that is an illustration of the mindset underlying this government; born in distrust, where the self-proclaimed strong men want to tackle things among themselves, with dire consequences for everybody else. Especially women.
