Gender equality. The obvious choice

Gender equality is the prerequisite for the fair, inclusive, sustainable development of our society. GIZ’s Gender Strategy gives us a mandatory framework for eradicating any gender-based disadvantages inside the company and in our work, and for realising equal opportunities and rights irrespective of gender, sexual orientation or gender identity.

The way we deal with gender is an important part of our corporate culture and a hallmark of our work. Within GIZ, we have clear structures for raising gender issues, with responsible officers in every organisational unit and at every level. They encourage measures to address the issue and ensure, in conjunction with the management of the company, that gender is taken into account in all processes.

One of our aims is to further increase the percentage of women in managerial and executive positions. The figure has risen steadily in recent years and currently stands at 45 per cent. To reinforce this trend, GIZ introduced a co-leadership model in 2020 that allows employees who work part time to assume demanding leadership responsibilities.

The following approaches will also help us develop gender competence within GIZ further:

• We take gender sensitivity and knowledge into account when recruiting new staff and in human resources and manager development.
• We organise working groups, networks and events on gender. In 2020, more than 540 employees took part in the Gender Network Meeting, along with representatives of commissioning parties and partners who were again invited to get involved in the event.
• We run a competition and award prizes for excellent examples of promoting gender equality within the company and in our work. In 2020, entries were received from 100 projects and 21 teams.