Equality in M-V: Women's power for innovation and success!

Equality in M-V: Women's power for innovation and success!

Today, on June 21, 2025, numerous committed women gathered in the Lübeck Congress Center for the 4th DGB District Women's Conference under the motto “Added Value Equality”. In her opening speech, Equal Opportunities Minister Jacqueline Bernhardt emphasized the importance of equal opportunities for all people to develop their abilities and achieve their goals. She explained that renowned studies BMAS have proven that diverse teams are not only more innovative, but also more productive. However, the question arises: Why are fewer than 25 percent of management positions in companies currently held by women?

As the Minister noted, women constitute half of society and it is high time to utilize their potential to the fullest instead of wasting it through discrimination. This is also supported by the red-led state government of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, which has anchored equality as a central point of its political agenda. A clear step in this direction was the declaration of Women's Day on March 8, 2023 as a public holiday in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.

Initiatives against injustice

Together with the DGB Nord, the government is committed to combating existing injustices. This also includes honors such as “Woman of the Year”, which are intended to help make women visible and serve as role models for them. In addition, the role of local equal opportunities officers will be strengthened by an upcoming change to the local constitution in order to make it easier to combine family and political commitment.

Another issue that was raised at the conference is the inadequate representation of women in the Bundestag. At only 32.4 percent, the proportion is still far from equality. To counteract this, the state government also supports mentoring programs for women, which are funded by the European Social Fund Plus.

Promote equal opportunities from the start

A key goal is to promote gender-sensitive career and study choice behavior. For this purpose, the “Gender-Sensitive Career Orientation ‘Box’” project was launched. These initiatives are in line with the programs of the Federal Government, which strive for gender-equitable career orientation and advice through various programs such as Girls'Day or Cliché-free. These are intended to ensure that young people choose careers based on their strengths and interests, regardless of gender stereotypes.

Speaking of Girls' Day: This takes place annually on the fourth Thursday in April and gives girls from the fifth grade onwards insights into areas such as technology, natural sciences and IT, where they are often underrepresented. Over 70 percent of girls could only choose from 20 of around 350 training courses, most of which are in female-dominated professions.

Particular attention is paid to the YouCodeGirls initiative, which creates an online platform for girls and young women on the subject of coding in order to promote cliché-free approaches here too. Once again it is clear that the future lies in gender-equitable and inclusive career orientation.

Finally, Minister Bernhardt made it clear that equality is a long-term process in which every step counts. The foundation for future success is being laid with a gender equality policy framework program consisting of 90 measures, which is to be developed by the end of the year. The implementation of these measures is scheduled for 2026. The call for collaboration and active participation is clear: we have to work together to bring about real change.