Business and Professional Women

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Association of Business and Professional Women (BPW) is a cross-professional and cross-sector network for women in over 100 countries, which sees itself as a global voice for equal opportunities for working women and as a forum for mutual support and international networking .

Goals and demands

  • Women and men are equal
  • Women and men receive equal pay for work of equal value
  • Women and men have the same career opportunities
  • Women and men are represented equally in leading positions in business and politics at all hierarchical levels
  • The compatibility of work and family is given equally for women and men
  • Women are always in working life and in old age insurance covered
  • All working women network on a national and international level
  • Women and men shape their future together

development

In 1930 BPW International was founded in Geneva on the initiative of US lawyer Lena Madesin Phillips . Phillips was elected as the first female president. After 1930, 29 international congresses took place, most recently in 2017 in Cairo. Today (as of 2018) around 28,000 women in over 90 countries on all continents belong to BPW International .

Practically all countries in Europe with 20,000 women belong to BPW Europe. The European Coordinating Committee was founded in 1981. The first coordinator was Renata Blodow. The current coordinator is Giuseppa Bombaci, who was elected for a three-year term in 2017. She is also an Executive Board Member of BPW International.

BPW in Germany

The Association of Working Women in Germany was founded in 1931 under the direction of lawyer Marie Munk . However, the organization found itself exposed to growing pressure from the National Socialists. In 1933 the association decided against joining Hitler's women's organizations and chose the route of dissolution.

On May 20, 1951, the German association was re-established in Bonn under the presidency of Maria May . In 1998 the association of international naming joined and became BPW Germany e. V. renamed. Today the association is represented in 40 cities and regions nationwide with its own club, in which the 1,650 members regularly come together for lecture and networking evenings.

Presidents of the BPW in Germany

Name of the President, BPW Club, term of office

  • Marie Munk , Berlin, 1931-1933
  • Maria May , Hamburg, May 20, 1951 - February 26, 1956
  • Gisela Graeff, Mannheim, February 26, 1956 - April 11, 1959
  • Mathilde Zschocke, Düsseldorf, April 11, 1959 - November 6, 1965
  • Thekla Groß, Düsseldorf, November 6, 1965 - October 23, 1971
  • Marie-Luise Fock, Göttingen, October 23, 1971 - October 7, 1977
  • Ilse Becker-Döring, Braunschweig, October 7, 1977 - November 5, 1983
  • Karin Steinberg, Königstein, November 5, 1983 - November 11, 1989
  • Svea Kuschel , Munich, November 11, 1989 - October 10, 1992, received the Cross of Merit on Ribbon in 2012
  • Gaby Krautkrämer, Frankfurt a. M., October 14, 1992 - October 14, 1994
  • Ingrid Mayer, Munich, October 14, 1994 - February 10, 1995
  • Dagmar Geffken, Bremen, February 10, 1995 - October 20, 1996
  • Annegret Hastedt, Bremen, 1996-1998
  • Angelika Roth, Nuremberg, 1998 - 2000
  • Heike Pehling-Negro, Erfurt, 2000 - November 6, 2004
  • Bettina Schleicher , Berlin, November 6, 2004 - November 8, 2008, received the Cross of Merit on ribbon in 2009
  • Dagmar Bischof, Erfurt, November 8, 2008 - November 6, 2010
  • Henrike von Platen , Berlin, November 6, 2010 - June 4, 2016
  • Uta Zech, Berlin, since June 4, 2016

BPW in Switzerland

BPW Switzerland was founded in Basel in 1947. The first president was the Swiss entrepreneur Elisabeth Feller . The network consists of 40 clubs with a total of around 2,300 members.

BPW Switzerland has been organizing the Equal Pay Day in Switzerland since 2008 . The aim of this project is to achieve equal pay between women and men for work of equal value. The Equal Pay Day shows how long on average women free work while men receive for their work since January 1 salary.

activities

In addition to personal exchange, lectures, conferences and its own mentoring program, the network carries out political and social lobbying work on a regional, national and international level. The BPW has category 1 consultant status at the United Nations and is represented, among other things, as a non-governmental organization at the Council of Europe . Dialogues with business and representatives of other social groups play an important role, with whom BPW Germany works on issues of corporate responsibility and equal opportunities in the workplace. BPW Germany initiated the Equal Pay Day in Germany in 2008 and is the sponsor of the Forum Equal Pay Day project.

Memberships

At the European level, the BPW is a member of the European Women's Lobby , at the German level in the German Women's Council and the ULA United Leaders Association and regionally in the various state women's councils. In addition, the BPW cooperates with four other large women's associations on international aid projects (Project 5-O) and is involved in Germany as a partner in the Future Economy Forum , an initiative by German media for corporate responsibility.

BPW Switzerland is a member of Alliance F , the umbrella organization of Swiss women's organizations, and carries out active lobbying work and projects to represent the concerns of women and to strengthen their rights.

literature

  • Angelika Timm: On the best way. On the history of the Association of Business and Professional Women - Germany 1951 to 2001. Ulrike Helmer Verlag, Königstein / Taunus 2001, ISBN 978-3-89741-071-8 .
  • BPW Germany, Seven Years of Equal Pay Day. A demand becomes a campaign, Berliner Wissenschafts-Verlag, 2015, ISBN 978-3-8305-2068-9
  • Henrike von Platen (Ed.): New Courage! Business and Professional Women (BPW) Germany 1931–2016 . Barbara Budrich Verlag, June 2016, ISBN 978-3-8474-2012-5

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ BPW Image Brochure 2016. Accessed on July 16, 2016 .
  2. ↑ https://www.bpw-international.org/index.php/about-bpw
  3. ↑ Henrike von Platen: New Courage! Business and Professional Women (BPW) Germany 1931 - 2016. Ed .: Henrike von Platen on behalf of BPW Germany. Barbara Budrich Verlag, Berlin 2016, ISBN 978-3-8474-2012-5 , pp. Chapter 1, pp. 27–35 ( budrich-academic.de [PDF]).
  4. ^ History of BPW Europe. In: www.bpw-europe.org. Retrieved July 16, 2016 .
  5. ^ The history of the BPW from 1930–1940 . BPW Germany website, accessed on November 24, 2013.
  6. ↑ The history of the BPW from 1940–1950 . BPW Germany website, accessed on November 24, 2013.
  7. ^ Presidents of BPW Germany eV Accessed on July 16, 2016 .
  8. ↑ www.bundespraesident.de: The Federal President / Announcement of the awards / Announcement of the awards from December 1, 2012. In: www.bundespraesident.de. Retrieved July 16, 2016 .
  9. ↑ Commitment to equality of women honored with the Federal Cross of Merit. German Women's Council, December 7, 2009, accessed on July 16, 2016 (German).
  10. ↑ BPW: There for women for 80 years! Business & Professional Women Switzerland, accessed on August 16, 2016 .
  11. ↑ BPW: active for women for 80 years! Business & Professional Women Switzerland, accessed on August 16, 2016 .