Europe as a driving force: Shaping women's participation – in Berlin and beyond

Like the German Basic Law, Article 23 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union explicitly points out that proactive measures to promote women may be necessary to effectively implement equality between women and men. This mandate for the state to actively realize equality is relevant in many areas of our lives where women remain socially or economically disadvantaged – from the labor market and the division of care work to the sharing of power in society and politics.

Thanks to various gender policy measures aimed at promoting women, the capital city of Berlin is considered a "city of women." The State Equal Opportunities Act, its gender equality framework program, and the use of gender budgeting and mainstreaming as administrative standards have earned the state its reputation as a pioneer.

However, women remain significantly underrepresented in the Berlin House of Representatives, just as they are in the Bundestag and all other federal states. The recent study "Frauen MACHT Berlin" once again demonstrated that and why women in politics are still too often left behind. Party cultures and nomination practices make political work more difficult for women, but the electoral system itself is also a decisive factor.

For years, Berlin politics has aimed to secure equal participation through a parity law, and discussions about parity regulations are taking place in many other parts of the country as well. Several countries in Europe and around the world have parity laws, and the European Parliament is also considering the introduction of parity rules in its proposals for a new electoral law for the EU Parliament. As Prof. Silke Ruth Laskowski shows in a new report for the FES, European case law has also repeatedly sided with parity laws, emphasizing their importance for democracy.

So what is Germany waiting for? How can we finally achieve equal participation in parliaments – in Berlin and everywhere?

Program

Discussing this question:

• Gaby Bischoff, Member of the European Parliament
• Cansel Kiziltepe, Senator for Integration, Labour, Social Services, Equality, Diversity and Anti-Discrimination and initiator of the Berlin Parity Network
• Prof. Dr. Silke Laskowski
• Dr. Helga Lukoschat, Senior Advisor at EAF Berlin

Moderator: Shelly Kupferberg

The full program is available here to download.

The event will take place in Berlin and will also be available online via Zoom.

Registration

Further information and the link to register can be found here.