5. German-Sino Conference on Gender Equality and Development: Post-Covid-Era and Women's Development

In many areas and in many countries, great strides in gender equality were made before the Covid 19 pandemic began. Women from around the world are increasingly able to free themselves from unpaid care work in families and instead gain opportunities in the workplace. But when the pandemic suddenly struck, a "re-traditionalization" occurred, with more and more women returning to their traditional roles, according to Prof. Dr. Clarissa Rudolph. About the instruments and solutions against this shattering development, Dr. Ulrike Spangenberg from ISS e.V. presented the third equality report as a framework strategy of the Federal Government of Germany. Then there was CEDAW (Convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women), presented by Ms. Juliane Rosin of the German Women's Council, as an international framework. Juliane Rosin pointed out that these important instruments like the Gender Equality Report and CEDAW are not known enough to play a bigger role. There is an urgent need to bring these frameworks to the attention of people and to arm them with political support against unequal treatment. Although the approaches discussed were not similar, all participants agreed that the exchange was very fruitful.