Fight for equality: DGB conference sets clear signs for women!

Fight for equality: DGB conference sets clear signs for women!

Mainz, Deutschland - A festive location for important topics: Today, on June 14, 2025, numerous delegates gathered for the 6th Ordinary District Women Conference of the DGB Rhineland-Palatinate / Saarland in the C casino building of ZDF in Mainz. Under the motto "added value - equality", a look at the current challenges of women's policy is taken and the women's political focus of the unions for the coming years is determined. This conference takes place every four years and is important for the design of future measures in the sense of equality.

Maria Leurs, the DGB district women's secretary, made it clear in her opening discussion how important a fair distribution of time, money and power is. She openly addressed the disadvantage of women in the world of work, which often leads to poverty in old age and social exclusion. This reality should give us all thinking, especially since the DGB represents the interests of almost 120,000 female members and campaigns for their interests to promote a self -determined life.

equality in focus

Susanne Wingertszahn, the chair of the DGB Rhineland-Palatinate / Saarland, emphasized the efforts of the DGB women to fight for equality. Collective agreements are an important instrument to promote equality. This is particularly noteworthy when you consider that despite all the progressive measures in 2024, the unavailed wage gap between men and women was still around 16 percent. It is sobering that around three quarters of the wage gap can be traced back to social structures in which women are often active in poorly paid professions and achieve rare management positions. For many women, this means unequal treatment that is still present to this day. According to the anti -discrimination agency, up to six percent of the wage differences are even inexplicable and prove the discrimination that many women have to experience in salary and career.

A central topic of the conference was the vote on numerous applications that should formulate union claims for the future. Applications for gender-friendly space and urban planning, the increase in places in women's shelters and the compatibility of work and care were on the agenda. These points are particularly important in order to create a social and economic infrastructure that meets all genders and supports the responsibility for each other in the family, as also prescribes the guiding principle of union equality policy. The DGB is emphasized here for the independent securing of existence of women.

greetings and support

The conference was enriched by a number of greetings, including by Katharina Binz, the Rhineland-Palatinate Minister of Family, Women, Culture and Integration, and Bettina Altesleben, State Secretary in the Saarland Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, Women and Health. They emphasized the importance of equality in all areas of life and the need to reduce the existing obstacles so that women are treated fairly in society.

In order to meet these challenges, the DGB will continue to rely on tariff -political success and strengthen the voice of women in the world of work. With a clear focus on the balance between work and private life and promoting partnership from the start, a new way to a fairer society could be paved.

We are excited to see which measures and results will emerge from this important conference and how the women in the DGB can advance these changes.