German development policy must focus on gender equality: minister

BERLIN, March 8 (Xinhua) — Germany’s Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development Svenja Schulze on Tuesday highlighted the important role of gender equality for sustainable development on the occasion of the International Women’s Day.

“Equal rights and equal opportunities for women are essential for a strong and crisis-resistant society,” said Schulze in a statement. “That is why gender equality must be a central theme of our German development policy.”

Inequality and discrimination against women still existed in all areas of life. According to the Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), one in three women worldwide experienced physical or sexual violence at least once in her lifetime.

To this day, 130 million girls worldwide were denied access to education, according to the ministry. Women would still perform around 75 percent of unpaid care and housework.

The COVID-19 pandemic had “ruined many development gains and exacerbated existing inequalities,” BMZ noted. For example, more women lost their jobs during the pandemic worldwide than men.

In Germany, women earned 18 percent less per hour on average than men last year, according to the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis). The average gross hourly earnings of women in the country was 19.12 euros (20.8 U.S. dollars), 4.08 euros lower than those of men.

“What is needed is a feminist development policy that eliminates structural inequalities, unequal treatment and discrimination,” said Schulze. “This involves equal rights, political and economic participation, representation and access to resources for all people.” (1 euro = 1.09 U.S. dollars)

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