Today, on 04.06.2024, the OLMUN week started. To kick off a great week, some guest speakers prepared a place and a speech to specifically talk about female empowerment. They addressed the question of how women are politically neglected, why it is a problem, and how it can be solved.
The three guest speakers are Nicol Piechotta, Britta Lammers, and Marleen Schmidt, who were kind enough to guide the Female Empowerment Panel, and their input is appreciated.
Nicole Piechotta introduced herself as a member of the city council and a mayoress of Oldenburg, where she fights for equality and good education and work. She has experienced that women are often not taken seriously in politics and that this sector is male-dominated. She said women tend to underestimate themselves and that women should support each other to learn from one another. In her opinion, an equal society should be made with positive role models and laws to prevent discrimination. Her advice is to be authentic. You should believe in yourself and shouldn’t try to fit into the box.
Britta Lammers introduced herself as an active woman with many jobs in education regarding the empowerment of women and disadvantaged people. She explained that women are not just labels that can be used. She emphasized that women are far more than stereotypes. Furthermore, she pointed out the problems that result from those stereotypes in society, which prevent people from living up to their full potential. The main issue lies within society itself, meaning the system needs to be adjusted. That means education needs to improve and society has to keep evolving.
Marleen Schmidt has been a political activist for seven years. She has experienced different treatments in politics and noticed that women are often labeled as loud and annoying for the same behavior as men. She mentioned that women are sometimes used as a good image for their company and then face discrimination behind the scenes. Marleen said that she points out discriminatory behavior and advises women to be loud to fight for their rights and to not get discouraged by the challenges behind it. Women should build themselves a network, and this panel was seen as a possibility to network.
To conclude the day, we asked the participating delegates about their impressions. Overall, the participants highly appreciated the opportunity that was given to them as well as the safe place that was created for them.
By Damaris Poppen, Femke Peters
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