No Social Democracy without Gender Equality

Modern democracy is inconceivable without equal rights. But practical realisation of these rights must also be possible. The Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung has therefore made equal opportunities for men and women an interdisciplinary task. Within the framework of our international project work, we, on the one hand, encourage and train women to aspire to leadership positions in parliaments, associations and companies (empowerment) and, on the other hand, endeavour to promote equal opportunities between the sexes in every policy area (gender mainstreaming). We therefore work not only with women’s organisations, but also with trade unions and other interest-representation institutions.

Particularly in Latin America and Asia, the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung works with a cross-border approach in terms of gender equality. The online platform FES Genero provides an insight into the FES gender work in Latin America. Especially the fostering of political participation, consultancy modules for municipal and national policies as well as women's empowerment and advancement in the workplace are in the focus of our regional work there. There are also comprehensive publications on the topic, in both Spanish and Portuguese. As for the Regional Project Asia, Gender is one of the main working lines. Key focus here is the promotion of women's participation in the political reform processes as well as the organisation of women workers in the informal sector.

On a global scale the focus of our work lies in gender-equal economic policies. A particular challenge here is the conflict between possible empowerment through rising economic independence on the one hand and new forms of dependence and exploitation on the other hand - both consequences of increasing integration of female workers in global production processes. Beside this main focus, the issue of gender equaltiy is being mainstreamed efficiently in close interexchange with other working lines of the international development cooperation of the FES.

For more on the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung's work in the area of women's and gender policy in various national and international fields of activity, click here.

Gender Toolbook

Discussions on how the gender approach could be introduced into everyday project work led to the decision to develop proprietary instruments to facilitate the integration of gender aspects in given activities or thematic areas. The instruments collected in our Gender Toolbook – such as checklists, manuals and so on – reflect many years’ experience, both at home and abroad, in the area of gender. However, they are only a stepping stone on the way towards gender mainstreaming which is continuously being supplemented by tried and tested instruments in order to enable users to make their work more gender sensitive.
Download the Gender Toolbook here .

FES Gender Mainstreaming Activities

Peace and a life free from violence are individual and social ideals of men and women alike and the violence of armed conflicts and wars affects both. Given their socio-culturally shaped gender roles, however, they are exposed to different forms of violence.
For more on this topic, click here.