“We women have it easier than men”

The Queen of Salzburg, so the “Queen of Salzburg” the New York Times headlined a page about the long-standing Festival President Helga Rabl-Stadler. “Ladies, please don’t squeak in front of yourselves so quietly!”was one of the wishes that the former ÖVP politician (74) addressed to her fellow women and advised: “You should make use of creative opportunities, no matter what your age.”

Two points are essential for setting the course in a woman’s life – education and partner choice. After all, the key elements that determine how successful women can be in their jobs are the partner and childcare options.

As the mother of two adult sons and grandmother of two twelve-year-old grandchildren, she sees herself as part of a sandwich generation: “First I had to do everything my strong mother wanted me to do, now I have to do everything my strong sons want me to do – there would still be room for freedom development.”

In 1971, when Rabl-Stadler started working, the husband still had to agree to his wife working. But even if the progress is clearly visible to them: “This attitude that one woman per committee is enough is annoying!”she says.

As a journalist, she was the first woman in Austria to write a political column in a daily newspaper. She ignored the resistance whenever possible. “I have no talent for frustration.” Rabl-Stadler believes it is essential to have confidence in something. Also: “Anyone who manages to get the quiet man, the pubescent son and the critical mother-in-law to sit at a table at Sunday dinner and not kill each other can also lead a department, it’s much less emotional,” she says. Even if Rabl-Stadler has retired as Festival President, she cannot imagine her life as a “classic pensioner”. “I’ve worked a lot my whole life – but I work what makes me happy.”

Especially in old age, she thinks it’s important to learn technology – “otherwise you will be excluded from public life”. And with a wink: “We have it easier than the men. Because we’ve never been that smart, we can admit we need to keep learning.”