Workshop on municipal finance: Empowering women in politics!

Workshop on municipal finance: Empowering women in politics!

On October 21, 2025, it was announced that a workshop on “Municipal Finances – Introduction to Finance, Budget & Gender Budgeting” would take place on November 8, 2025. The event is organized by the local political women's network in the Duchy of Lauenburg and is aimed at women who are active in local politics or would like to get involved. The workshop will take place in Mölln from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., with the exact location still to be confirmed. Those interested in participating must register by email by November 4, 2025 at the latest.

The workshop speaker, Sabine Rautenberg, has a degree in business administration and has over 20 years of experience in local council and district council. The topics of the workshop include the basics of municipal finances, budget advice and planning as well as the legal implementation of dual and gender budgeting. An important aspect of the workshop is the exchange of experiences and mutual support among the participants.

Focus on gender budgeting

Gender budgeting plays a central role in the event. According to that Equality portal Gender budgeting is part of the gender mainstreaming strategy to promote gender equality in budget and economic policy. The aim is to promote the gender-specific assessment of budget plans and to incorporate a gender perspective into budget planning.

The concept of gender budgeting analyzes the distribution of resources such as money, time and work with a gender-sensitive approach. It examines whether public finance decisions promote equality or reinforce existing inequalities. This form of budget planning is intended to ensure that equal opportunities between women and men are increased.

Challenges and initiatives

In Germany, there is currently no gender-equitable budget policy at the federal level. According to a study conducted by the State Women’s Council NDS published, a report shows that the introduction of a gender-equitable federal budget is considered necessary and feasible. An example of the practical implementation of gender budgeting is the “FinanzFAIRsharing” concept, which was developed by the city of Münster.

Gender budgeting aims to analyze the existing budget with a view to equality goals and, if necessary, make necessary changes. In particular, it is important to collect data in order to identify the need for action and define equality goals.

In summary, gender budgeting does not just mean separate budget planning for women and equality measures, but rather strives for gender-equitable budget management overall. Initiatives such as the upcoming workshop in Mölln are intended to increase awareness of this issue and promote active participation of women in local politics.

For further information and to register for the workshop, interested parties are invited to visit the website Local political women's network in the Duchy of Lauenburg to visit.