Charleroi presented its first gender referent at a press conference on Wednesday. Jennifer Hiernaux, who has been working in the municipal administration for eight years now, will be tasked with making sure the gender dimension is present in all matters dealt with by the city.
Ms. Hiernaux will spearhead the implementation of a plan comprising 50 actions. These include, for example, training front-line municipal staff in the realities of sexism.
The gender referent will also be asked to provide expertise to members of the municipal college, according to Alicia Monard, alderman for Equal Opportunities.
On Wednesday, Ms. Hiernaux cited the fight against discrimination, and, more so, equality between men and women, as the objective that will guide her work in the months and years to come.
“It is a position that has a double aspect: internal to the city and external to the population,” said Lahssen Mazouz, director general of the City of Charleroi.
