Kathrin Mahler Walther is the Executive Chair of EAF Berlin and a member of the supervisory board of Femtec GmbH. She advises organizations on promoting diversity and equal opportunity and is a frequent speaker, moderator, and trainer. She has conducted various studies for EAF Berlin on leadership in politics, business, and academia, most recently the 2024 study on theinvolvement of women in local politics in Saxony.

The question of how we can shape society and the working world in a fair and inclusive way is the driving force behind her work. Her commitment to a diverse, democratic society goes back a long way: in the 1980s, she was active in the East German civil rights movement and subsequently served in the first State Parliament of Saxony. For her dedication, she was awarded the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany by Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. 

In 2021, Kathrin Mahler Walther was ranked 1st on the PROUTinSMEs list, making her one of GERMANY’S TOP 100 OUT EXECUTIVES for the second time—a selection of LGBTIQ* leaders committed to equal opportunity and diversity in the workplace.

Kathrin Mahler Walther studied social sciences in Jena, Berlin, and New York on a scholarship from the Hans-Böckler-Stiftung. She completed training as a systemic organizational consultant at isiberlin and Riesner & Braun Consulting. She was trained as an Inclusive Leadership trainer by Thais Compoint, CEO of Céclic International. She is an alumna of the Leadership Program and the Digital Leadership Track 2020/2021 of the LEAD Academy, as well as the German-Israeli Young Leaders Exchange of the Bertelsmann Stiftung.

Prior to her work for EAF Berlin, Kathrin Mahler Walther was involved in various projects in the fields of equal opportunity and gender research, including for Femtec.Network, for Catalyst – one of the leading organizations for the advancement of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the U.S. – for the Hans Böckler Foundation and for DaimlerChrysler AG, where she conducted a research project on recruiting women for industrial-technical vocational training.

Kathrin Mahler Walther began her career with vocational training as a specialist in writing technology at Urania-Verlag in Leipzig and later earned her Abitur through adult education. As a member of the former East German civil rights movement, she was politically active for several years, serving as a member of the national board of the Initiative for Peace and Human Rights (IFM) and as their representative at the Leipzig Round Table. In 1991/92, she worked as a consultant for social and equality policy in the first Saxon State Parliament, where she experienced the transformation process in East Germany firsthand.

Memberships and Involvement

• Advisory Board TOTAL E-QUALITY Deutschland e.V.
• Member of the Supervisory Board Femtec
• Member of the Advisory Council Frauen.Vielfalt.Politik
• Mentor at Netzwerk Chancen
• Mentor at MentorMe
• In 2012, she was one of the co-founders of the German Mentoring Association (DGM); she served as a board member until 2020.
• Member of the Advisory Board of the Federal Foundation for Gender Equality

Selected Publications

• Sive, Anna; Zegler, Louisa; Mahler Walther, Kathrin (2026): More Diversity in Volunteering! How to achieve social representation in organized sports? Results of a study commissioned by the Württemberg State Sports Association and practical tips for clubs and associations. Publisher: Württembergischer Landessportbund e.V. Download
• Lukoschat, Helga; Mahler Walther, Kathrin; Weidhofer, Cécile (2025): Parity at the Local Level?!? Legal reform approaches for local politics. Publisher: The German Women Lawyers Association, pp. 140-143. Download
• "The proportion of women in the 21st Bundestag has fallen. Diversity? Representativeness? Nowhere to be found!", blog post from 03/03/2025.
• "Now More Than Ever! Local female politicians in Saxony between fear and new beginnings", blog post from 01/23/2025.
• "35 Years of the Peaceful Revolution: Courage for Democracy", blog post, 08.10.2024.
• Mahler Walther, Kathrin; Sive, Anna; Hempe, Lisa; Dr. Lukoschat, Helga (2024): Women's Involvement in Local Politics in Saxony. Publisher: Saxon State Ministry of Justice and for Democracy, Europe and Gender Equality. Download
• "What impact does the Self-Determination Act have on our programs for women's equal opportunity?", blog post from 16.05.2023.
• Mahler Walther, Kathrin/Lukoschat, Helga (2020): Mayors in Germany 30 Years After Reunification. Results of a representative survey. EAF Berlin. Download
• Völkle, Hanna/Mahler Walther, Kathrin (2020): How pigeonholing creates stagnation alongside order: The unconscious bias approach as a bridge to inclusive organizational cultures, ZDfm – Journal for Diversity Research and Management, 5(2), 177-181. Download
• Gedamu, Jessica/Mahler Walther, Kathrin (2020): The new recipe for success? Or just hot air? What unconscious bias workshops can achieve – and what they cannot. In: Domsch, M./Ladwig, D./Weber, F. (Eds.): Prejudices in the Workplace. Recognizing, avoiding, and reducing unconscious bias. Wiesbaden, pp. 287-295.
• Mahler Walther, Kathrin (October 3, 2019): We must celebrate October 9th. In: Zeit Online, www.zeit.de/kultur/2019-10/deutsche-wiedervereinigung-jubilaeum-friedliche-revolution-ddr-brd (accessed April 17, 2020)
• Mahler Walther, Kathrin (2018): How can diversity be communicated effectively? Six steps to successful communication. In: Senate Department for Justice, Consumer Protection and Anti-Discrimination / State Office for Equal Treatment and Against Discrimination / Eine Welt der Vielfalt e.V. (Eds.): Shaping diversity successfully. Contributions from the Berlin Diversity Workshop. Berlin, pp. 19-21. Download
• Mahler Walther, Kathrin/Bessing, Nina (2017): The concept of strategic cross-mentoring: Personnel and organizational development in small and medium-sized enterprises. In: Domsch, Michel E./Ladwig, Désirée H./Weber, Florian C.: Cross Mentoring. A successful instrument for cross-organizational personnel development. SpringerGabler, Berlin, pp. 219-229.
• Mahler Walther, Kathrin/Lukoschat, Helga (2016): Practical insights: Mentoring programs at EAF Berlin. In: Liebhart, Ursula/Stein, Daniela: Professional mentoring in corporate practice. Freiburg, pp. 123-129.
• Mahler Walther, Kathrin (2016): Supporting career entry through mentoring. A program for (alumni) scholarship holders of the Hans-Böckler-Stiftung. In: Hebecker, Eike/Szczyrba, Birgit/Wildt, Beatrix (Eds.): Counseling in the field of higher education. Formats - Concepts - Strategies - Standards. Wiesbaden, pp. 133-141.
• Mahler Walther, Kathrin/Bessing, Nina (2015): Fix the women or fix the workplace? Sustainable change requires the integration of individual and structural levels. In: Welpe, Isabel M. et al.: Selecting men and women as leaders. Perspectives from business, science, media, and politics. Wiesbaden, pp. 419-428.
• Mahler Walther, Kathrin (2014): 25 years of the Peaceful Revolution: More attention for East German identities. Berliner Zeitung online, Oct 9, 2014
• Stein, Stephanie/Mahler Walther, Kathrin/Erfurt Sandhu, Philine (2013): Diversity as a competitive factor in small and medium-sized enterprises. In: Personalwirtschaft, Issue 11/2013, pp. 52-54.

You can find the complete list of publications by Kathrin Mahler Walther here.