Flemish Interior Minister Hilde Crevits (CD&V) opposes the introduction of extra gender quotas in local politics despite women making up just 19% of mayors in Flanders.
Crevits explained her position in Flemish Parliament on Tuesday as part of a response to questions from Kurt De Loor (Vooruit), Kim Buyst (Groen) and Brecht Warnez (CD&V).
The proportion of female municipal councillors has slightly increased since the last elections, rising from 38.3% to 41.1%.
Despite this positive trend, the gender balance remains unequal, particularly among mayors, where only 18.8% are women.
Current regulations prohibit the top two positions on electoral lists from being occupied by people of the same gender.
"I am not in favour of additional quotas," the Christian democratic politician said. She believes it is counterproductive to burden local governments with more regulations.
'Token woman'
"However, I do recognise the positive impact of existing quotas," she added. "I likely would not have entered the Flemish Parliament without quotas. I was in third place, and two men had to move down the list to make way for me. Initially, they were unhappy about having a token woman. However, I now have a good relationship with the governor of West Flanders, so it hasn’t been an issue."
Crevits has promised a thorough scientific investigation into the distribution of local mandates before the next elections. "We may need to examine the reasons why women decline positions, such as the rules regarding political leave and maternity leave," she said.
Opposition party Groen favours the introduction of new quotas. The party plans to propose a decree to ensure that at least one-third of councillors are of a different gender.
"If we want everyone to feel represented, our councils need to be more diverse," Kim Buyst argues. "This diversity should exist in all aspects, whether it is age, background, disability or otherwise, but especially in terms of gender."
