Osnabruck Gender Lens Policy Brief

October 29, 2025

Authors:
Mara Dankbar, Deniz Barut, Comfort Yeboaa, Milicia Milutinovic, Astan Keita, Stephanie Nfor, Sarah Toure, Esaie Kouame

Introduction

We cannot all succeed when half of us are held back.

Malala Yousafzai

Following the European Charter for Equality of Women and Men in Local Life(ECE), adopted in 2006, gender equality frameworks expanded from international to regional and local levels, adopting measures and approaches closer to the needs and realities of people at the municipal level. This localised charter translates to the same intention as the Istanbul Convention and the CEDAW, a willingness of all European Union (EU) member states to decentralise and devolve gender equality policies, with the ultimate aim of bringing them closer to the people at the local level and ensuring the development of adaptable and actionable measures. The city of Osnabrück ratified this convention in 2012, demonstrating its political willingness to make this growing migrant hub as inclusive as possible for men, minorities, people with disabilities, LGBTQ+ people, girls, and Women. Osnabrück adopted its first Equality Action Plan (OGEAP)1 in 2014 for a period of four years from 2014-2017 (OGEAP, 2021, p. 3).

This first Action Plan, coordinated by Katja Weber-Khan, aimed not only to combat all forms of discrimination against women and girls but also to create an “awareness and educational system where people should be aware and informed that every decision can aﬀect gender equality”

(Engagement Global, 2018, p. 11). At the end of the first plan, the municipality launched the second plan, 2021-2025, which is due to be completed this year. Built on the successes and challenges of the first plan, which was too compact due to its 49 individual measures (OGEAP, 2021, p.3) the second plan redefined approaches and actionable goals, based on six core policy fields, derived from the nine policy fields of the ECE.

Strong of this background, the municipality is accountable to the people regarding the effectiveness of its policies and measures. This research is grounded in Germany’s long-standing efforts to combat all forms of discrimination and gender inequalities at all levels,. Therefore, this research poses the following research questions: How does the Equality Action Plan of Osnabrück reflect comprehensive gender dynamics? To what extent does the Equality Action Plan of Osnabrück contribute to reducing gender inequalities across municipal policy fields?

The paper posits that the Equality Action Plan of Osnabrück, by embedding gender-sensitive and intersectional measures across multiple municipal policies, contributes to the reducing gender inequalities in the city. However, there could be an assessment that the measures of the Osnabrück Equality Action Plan do not significantly affect the persistence of gender inequalities across intersectional groups and dimensions.

Osnabruck Gender Lens Policy Brief

Introduction

Malala Yousafzai

Table of Contents