18.00 Uhr CET — 27. November 2020

Minister of State Michelle Münte­fering joins Elke Büden­bender to discuss equal oppor­tu­ni­ties with women around the world

On 27 November, Minister of State Michelle Münte­fering will be joining forces with Elke Büden­bender to host the virtual Women’s Night In. Together with women in positions of power around the world, they will be discussing gender equality, the role of women in preserving peace and security, and the conse­quences of COVID 19.

Equal oppor­tu­ni­ties for women and men are far from being a reality even in 2020. Women are under­rep­re­sented in parlia­ments, board­rooms, academia and diplo­macy world­wide. Women are under­rep­re­sented in parlia­ments, board­rooms, academia and diplo­macy world­wide. They earn less than men and are dispro­por­tion­ately likely to suffer gender-specific discrim­i­na­tion and violence.

And it is also essen­tial in order to achieve peace, stability and security – because history has shown that peace treaties are longer-lasting and more successful when women are involved in the negoti­a­tions. And it is also essen­tial in order to achieve peace, stability and security – because history has shown that peace treaties are longer-lasting and more successful when women are involved in the negoti­a­tions.

In 2000, this led the Security Council of the United Nations to pass Resolu­tion 1325, in which the inter­na­tional commu­nity pledged to involve women in peace talks, conflict media­tion and recon­struc­tion on equal terms with men. Twenty Twenty years have now passed and the Resolu­tion is still far from being imple­mented.

In the midst of the coron­avirus pandemic, there is a danger that the fight for equal oppor­tu­ni­ties and the imple­men­ta­tion of Resolu­tion 1325 will fall by the wayside. And yet the pandemic makes it all the more impor­tant to utilise the poten­tial of women and to pay in depth atten­tion to women’s issues.

Michelle Münte­fering, Minister of State at the Federal Foreign Office, and Elke Büden­bender are there­fore organ­ising a digital women’s forum on 27 November to discuss ways of advancing gender equality, supporting women and strength­ening existing networks.

They will be joined by female decision-makers from around the world including Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Anita Bhatia, Bineta Diop, Hamsatu Allamin, Ilwad Elman, Monika Hauser, Sanam Naraghi Ander­lini and Melinda Gates.

There will also be an accom­pa­nying programme featuring music by Ria Boss in collab­o­ra­tion with Music In Africa and the founda­tion Siemens Stiftung, as well as a short film by women artists from Iraq working with the NGO elbar­la­ment.

The digital forum follows on from a meet-up held in Berlin in 2019, and further Women’s Night In events are planned for the coming years. The digital forum follows on from a meet-up held in Berlin in 2019, and further Women’s Night In events are planned for the coming years.

Members of the public can watch the live stream and take part here.