Vienna 2026: City Councilor for Finance Novak is planning major savings measures and jobs for women!

Vienna 2026: City Councilor for Finance Novak is planning major savings measures and jobs for women!

Vienna is under new financial circumstances: The newly appointed Finance and Economics City Councilor Barbara Novak has clear plans for the city's future. After making a name for herself as party secretary of the Vienna SPÖ for many years, she is now taking a closer look at the challenges of the city's budget. The debt level of 11.9 billion euros is a hot potato that Novak would like to address with an austerity package for 2026. Discussions in this regard are already beginning, while details of the budget preparation are to be presented in the fall. A smart move, because in times of financial uncertainty, strategic planning is worth its weight in gold.

But the city is not just using money sparingly: the expansion of the subway network is continuing as planned. Mobility as a future topic has the highest priority. What is particularly noteworthy is that Novak places a particular focus on the employment of women as part of the labor market program. There is a need for action here, because unemployment among young women in Vienna is worryingly high. What can Vienna do to meet this challenge?

Gender pay gap and its meaning

Another aspect that Novak addresses is the gender pay gap, whose dimensions in Vienna are fortunately smaller than the Austrian average. This could be due to the good work-life balance, a situation that Vienna definitely wants to maintain and further expand. The Gender Pay Gap describes the difference in earnings per hour between women and men and is becoming increasingly relevant in public discussion. It is important to keep an eye on both the unadjusted and adjusted gender pay gap in order to make real progress on pay inequality.

Comprehensive equality requires not only an analysis of wages, but also consideration of factors such as part-time work and career choice. As the Chamber of Labor explains, there are now numerous online resources that help both companies and women better understand their rights and opportunities with regard to equal pay. Offers such as interactive calculators and information portals make these topics easier to access and could be a valuable step in the right direction.

Vienna as an innovative business location

In addition to the socio-political approaches, Vienna also offers economic perspectives that can reshape the cityscape. The city is applying for a European AI Gigafactory and sees itself in a good position to win the contract. Novak emphasizes that the added value through digitalization and artificial intelligence could be significant - this is expected to generate up to 5.6 billion euros in economic output for the city. So the signs point to the future!

As part of tourism, Vienna also wants to start applying for the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 score. Novak emphasizes that the ESC would bring enormous added value for the city. Such an event could attract not only national but also international visitors and increase Vienna's advertising effectiveness.

With a clear view of the future and a combination of social responsibility and economic growth, Barbara Novak is ready to steer Vienna through the challenges ahead. We can only hope that the plans, including savings packages and digitalization initiatives, will work and that the city will soon come to the fore as a shining example of progress and equality.