More women in (local) politics: Equal Opportunities Office invited to speed dating with women councillors

Host Britta Bollermann from VHS Dortmund opened the evening, which was dedicated entirely to the topic of women in local politics. Dortmund's former mayor Marianne Wendzinski then welcomed the audience and talked about her path into politics and how she became the first woman mayor in Germany. She told how political discussions and decisions were discussed in advance in male alliances and how she founded a Dortmund women's network in response to this. She also noted that local politics is about voluntary work and that recognition is more about awards than financial rewards. Marianne Wendzinski has received many awards and honors. For example, she was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit in 1998, has been an honorary member of the council since 2004 and holds the title of "former mayor".

Maresa Feldmann, Equal Opportunities Officer for the City of Dortmund, then presented current facts and figures on gender distribution in politics at federal, state and municipal level. Using a number of examples, she showed how important it is for women to be involved at all political levels. The vote in the Bundestag in 1997 on the question of whether marital rape should be punished as a crime clearly showed how important women's votes are, as they voted in favor of the law in greater numbers than men. Next, Lynn Berg from the Equal Opportunities Office at TU Dortmund University presented the empowerment program "Misch dich ein - mach Politik vor Ort!", in which the Equal Opportunities Office of the City of Dortmund was also involved. Students Lana Fasbender (RUB) and Marlene Schlüter (TU Dortmund University), who took part in the program, talked about their experiences and presented their practical project for Dortmund. They developed a guideline for local political involvement, which is intended to break down barriers in order to make it easier for female students in particular to get involved in local politics more quickly.

Katrin Kieseier from the City of Dortmund's Equal Opportunities Office then moderated the one-hour speed dating session with six Dortmund councilwomen from five political groups and former mayor Marianne Wendzinski. Topics included their personal experiences in politics, their careers in local politics, their motivation for working in the council, the compatibility of family and political commitment, the amount of time spent on voluntary work and possible requirements for the office. After an hour of intensive discussions, all the councilwomen agreed that no particular previous experience or skills were needed for local political work, but rather a willingness to get involved, the courage to jump in at the deep end and get started.