Equality in Beckum
Is gender equality still a topical issue?
The Basic Law states that men and women have equal rights, but also that the state must promote actual equality and work towards eliminating disadvantages. And there is still a lot to do.
Ultimately, it is a task for society as a whole, in which we all play a decisive role!
Gender equality work today means working on the structures so that conditions are created for everyone to have equal opportunities.
To do this, outdated role models and thinking in stereotypical thought structures must be broken down. This is not rocketscience, this is what we encounter every day. Just think about the role models we grew up with, which can still be seen every day in advertising, in the presentation of products, in price developments, in planning or in the world of work, for example. And these stereotypes are always being replayed. That is not further development, but stagnation.
Here it is important to identify the nodes in order to be able to break them open at the root and develop them further.
We find these nodes in all areas of life and therefore they condition on many levels that equality does not yet exist.
Even if it already seems to us today that it is no longer an issue, movements in Germany, Europe and the world are showing us the opposite. There are forces that want to turn back the clock, push back what has been achieved and not allow new progress.
The Equal Opportunities Officer has the task of pointing out the constitutional principle that men and women are equal, to inform about it and to be a motor for change. She is the contact person for matters relevant to equality and is available as a cooperation partner.
However, it is not responsible for the actual implementation of this mandate within the administration. This mandate lies with the employees with a management task.
Equal Opportunities Officer
I have been the Equal Opportunities Officer of the City of Beckum since 2010. I have 25 hours per week available for this task.
My mandate is based on the North Rhine-Westphalia Equal Opportunities Act (Landesgleichstellungsgesetz Nordrhein-Westfalen). This results from the constitutional mandate that all men and women are equal.
The Municipal Code of North Rhine-Westphalia complements the scope of duties. Numerous laws, international treaties or European legislation supplement the diverse areas of work of equal opportunities officers.My duties include:
- Advocacy on gender equality issues
- Networking
- Office of the "Round Table for Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence in the District of Warendorf".
- Event organisation
- Public relations
- Project work
- Internal administrative tasks
Equality plan
The municipality draws up an equal opportunities plan as part of its human resources development in accordance with § 5 of the North Rhine-Westphalia Equal Opportunities Act. This can cover a period of 3-5 years. The content is about ensuring that equality is implemented and further developed within the administration.
The equality plan contains an analysis of the current situation with data on employment relationships. In connection with the analysis of the current situation, forecasts and measures are used to anchor and promote gender equality within the municipality.
The current equality plan was adopted by the Beckum City Council in September 2019 and runs until 2023.
Task of an Equal Opportunities Officer
The Equal Opportunities Officer has the task of pointing out the constitutional principle that men and women are equal, to inform about it and to be a motor for change. She is the contact person for matters relevant to equality and is available as a cooperation partner both internally and externally.
However, it is not responsible for the actual implementation of this mandate within the administration. This mandate lies with the employees with a management task.
Networking
Networking is an important and determining part in this field of work.
This takes place in cooperation with various actors in order to advance the topic jointly and interdisciplinarily.
For networking, empowerment and collegial consultations, the equal opportunities commissioners at district level have come together in a working group to tackle the common mission in its diversity of topics.
Networking takes place not only at district level, but also at state and national levels. For example, all equal opportunities officers are members of the NRW state working group of municipal equal opportunities offices and the federal working group of municipal women's and equal opportunities offices. Regular meetings of members at the state level provide an opportunity to network, exchange ideas, give impulses and learn from best practice examples. At the national level, a national congress takes place every 18 months. An exchange via the elected spokespersons and the offices is possible at any time.