Dr. Bärbel Kofler (BMZ) and Ingrid-Gabriela Hoven (GIZ) award “Remarkable Feminist Voices in Transport 2023″ of GIZ’s Women Mobilize Women Initiative!
On March 2nd 2023, Parliamentarian State Secretary Dr. Bärbel Kofler (BMZ) and Ingrid-Gabriela Hoven awarded 33 women from 20 countries as “Remarkable Feminist Voices in Transport 2023”. The high-level dialogue and award ceremony was hosted by the GIZ’s Women Mobilize Women initiative at the GIZ Representation Berlin. Parliamentary State Secretary Dr. Bärbel Kofler (BMZ) opened the event, followed by a laudation held by GIZ Management Board Member Ingrid-Gabriela Hoven.
The award honors women who have made outstanding contributions to more gender-equitable urban transport systems in their respective countries. Among them Zoleka Mandela, granddaughter of Nelson Mandela, a strong advocate for road safety and founder of the Zoleka Mandela Foundation, as well as Laura Ballesteros Mancilla, Alternate Senator at the Mexican Congress and founding member of Mujeres en Movimento. Other honorees were Dr. Sigrid Nikutta, CEO of DB Cargo AG or Anuela Ristani, Deputy Mayor of Tirana, Albania, who also attended the award ceremony. The 33 women were nominated in a public call that resulted in 75 nominations from over 30 countries.
In her opening speech, Dr. Bärbel Kofler, Parliamentary State Secretary of BMZ, underlined the importance of bringing women to the table:
“I am convinced that a truly equitable and sustainable mobility transformation can only be achieved if women are at the forefront of the development.”
Ingrid-Gabriela Hoven, Managing Director at GIZ spoke about GIZ’s commitment to more just, diverse and gender-transformative international cooperation in her laudation to the award winners:
“Women are changemakers in the transport sector. We see more and more women driving the transformation of mobility systems towards sustainability and decarbonization at the decision-making.”
Mobility is an essential public good. However, transport systems fail to sufficiently address the needs of women, diminishing their right to the city and to safe and free movement. Women only make up 20% of the global workforce in the transport sector and are not benefitting from this critical economic sector the way men do. That is why BMZ sets feminist development policy as a priority in transport with the Women Mobilize Women initiative.
As the global flagship initiative for women in transport, Women Mobilize Women (WMW) addresses gender-equitable transport planning on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). Women Mobilize Women stands up for a gender-transformative mobility and addresses women and marginalized groups as transport users, decision makers and transport workers. The Women Mobilize Women initiative was founded in 2018 as part of the “Transformative Urban Mobility Initiative” (TUMI). TUMI is the leading global implementation initiative on sustainable mobility, formed through the union of 11 prestigious partners and implemented by GIZ.
Every year, WMW honors the “Remarkable Women in Transport”. In light of Women Mobilize Women’s five-year anniversary, this years’ award is handed out under the special title “Remarkable Feminist Voices in Transport 2023”. In addition to the award, WMW will also publish a publication of the same name. A limited number of copies will be available as a print version, digital versions of the book are downloadable at the following link: Remarkable Women in Transport – WomenMobilizeWomen
With the publication, WMW aims to increase visibility for the work of feminist change-makers in the transport sector globally and portrays the variety of their approaches for a gender-equitable and just transport transformation.
Furthermore, the initiative also invited the award recipients from the Global South to a high-level study tour in Berlin. Twenty-one of the award recipients and representatives of relevant institutions and organizations in Germany attended a week of expert exchanges from February 27th to March 3rd. Among others, the program included discussions on the importance of gender mobility data, expert exchanges with members of the German Parliament, UN Women, Women in Mobility and other relevant stakeholders in light of Germany’s Feminist Development Policy.
Contact Details
Name: Julia RemmersEmail: julia.remmers@giz.de