2024 WEPs Forum: Germany – Accelerating Business Action for Gender Equality is a collaborative effort between UN Women and the German Agency for Business and Economic Development (AWE), in cooperation with the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DIHK).
Taking place from 22-23 May 2024 in Berlin, Germany, the Forum aims to showcase German WEPs signatories’ achievements and to understand their challenges and opportunities in WEPs implementation. It also sets out to explore areas of collaboration to accelerate actions to achieve gender equality and women’s empowerment in the workplace, marketplace and community.
DAY 1: Wednesday 22 May 2024
11:30 | Registration | |
12:00 | Welcome & Lunch Elke Ferner, President, UN Women National Committee Germany | |
13:00 | Opening ceremony | Welcome remarks: Martin Wansleben, Chief Executive Officer, German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DIHK) Opening remarks: H.E. Svenja Schulze, Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development Kirsi Madi, Deputy Executive Director for Resource Management, Sustainability and Partnerships, UN Women |
13:20 | The Women's Empowerment Principles (Keynote) | Anna Fälth, Global Head, WEPs Secretariat, UN Women
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| 13:35 | The German Labour Market - Part 1 (Keynote address) | Trends on gender equality – leadership, STEM and the green economy Lilian Tschan, Permanent State Secretary, Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs |
13:45 | The German Labour Market - Part 2 (Round table) | Trends on gender equality – leadership, STEM and the green economy Moderator: Dagmar Schumacher, UN Women National Committee Germany Speakers: Michaela Streibelt, Advisor, Helpdesk on Business and Human Rights Kristin Lena Keveloh, Senior Lead Manager, Public Policy & Economic Graph, LinkedIn
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14:15 | CEOs navigating the future (Opening remarks and fireside chat) | Leaders navigating the future – ESG, sustainability and gender equality as cornerstones of corporate leadership Moderator: Anna Fälth, Global Head, WEPs Secretariat, UN Women Opening remarks: Kirsi Madi, Deputy Executive Director for Resource Management, Sustainability and Partnerships, UN Women Speakers: Tilmann Rothhammer, Vice President, Customer Service & Supply Chain, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, Germany Kirsten Schoder-Steinmüller, Vice President, DIHK; and CEO, Schoder GmbH |
14:45 | Leadership for gender equality (Fireside chat) | SMEs leading the way to gender equality Moderator: Anna Fälth, Global Head, WEPs Secretariat, UN Women Speakers: Markus Löning, CEO, Löning Natascha Thomas, Deputy CEO, PMG Presse-Monitor Verwaltungs GmbH |
15:15 | Coffee Break | |
15:45 | Unconscious bias (Interactive training) | Removing bias to advance gender equality Trainers: Robert Baker, Founder and CEO, Potentia Talent Consulting Mihwa Park, WEPs Coordinator, UN Women |
16:45 | Gender equality in the value chain (Interactive panel discussion) | Gender equality in value and supply chain and marketing practices Moderator: Ursula Sautter, UN Women National Committee Germany Speakers: Christina Keller, Chief Strategy Officer, DDB Germany Group of Companies Wendy Rentschler, Global Head of Corporate Citizenship & Impact, BMC Software |
17:30
| Gender equality in communities (Panel discussion) | Corporate engagement in local communities Moderator: Nora Teuma, UN Women National Committee Germany Confirmed Speakers: Shaleenah Marie, Head of Learning and Development, Siemens Susanne Kahlich, CEO, SINGE |
18:00 | Wrap up of Day 1 | |
18:15 | Reception
| Let's end the evening together in the lounge of the Haus der Deutschen Wirtschaft with drinks and snacks. |
DAY 2: Thursday 23 May 2024
| 09:00 | Recap of day 1 and overview of day 2 | Speaker: Mihwa Park, WEPs Coordinator, UN Women |
| 09:10 | Key note speech | Driving gender equality through global digital transformation Speaker: Anna Sophie Herken, Board Member, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) |
| 09:20 | Gender equality in the workplace
(Panel discussion) | Driving inclusive corporate workplace culture Moderator: Ursula Schäfer-Preuss, UN Women National Committee Germany Speakers: Alexandra Menzel, Manager, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Roland Berger Carolin Boye, Head of Talent Acquisition & Employer Branding, TK Elevator Rita Nkuhlu, Executive Director - Business Excellence, Siemens Southern and Eastern Africa |
| 10:00 | Transition to a care economy that works for all (Panel discussion) | Transition to a care economy that works for all Moderator: Ursula Sautter, UN Women National Committee Germany Speakers: Andrea Rupp, Board Member, UN Women National Committee Germany Silja Fiedrich, Akademie, Berufundfamilie Service Gmbh Stefanie Decker, Senior Director People & Organization, PUMA Group |
| 10:40 | Coffee break and transition to breakout sessions | |
| 11:00 | Workshops (Group discussion)
| Workshop I: Corporate sustainability and gender equality: meeting and going beyond regulation Moderator: Pinar Akcayoz De Neve, Programme Analyst, Private Sector, UN Women Türkiye |
Workshop II: Women driving success: joint impact for transformation - partnerships between business and development cooperation Moderator: Karla Beteta, Senior Advisor, AWE Fire starter: Joachim Turre, Senior Policy Officer for Private Sector Cooperation, BMZ | ||
Workshop III: Role of chambers of commerce & Industry associations in driving gender equality Moderator: Julia Arnold, Department Head, Business Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry, DIHK Fire starter: Evelyn de Gruyter, Managing Director, Association of German Women Entrepreneurs | ||
Workshop IV: Fostering an inclusive work culture Moderator: Mihwa Park, WEPs Coordinator, UN Women | ||
Workshop V: Collaboration with UN Women – WEPs & beyond Moderator: Mitzy Baqueiro, Economic Empowerment and Education Specialist, UN Women Mexico Fire starter: Katja Ploner, Corporate DEI Advisor, Siemens AG | ||
| 12:30 | Report back (Panel of rapporteurs): Concrete Steps & Recommendations | |
| 13:00 | Closing Ceremony: Reflections on next steps | |
| 13:30 | Farewell Lunch | |