**Female empowerment is a phenomenon that is slowly arriving in our society. But what exactly is it? And why is it so important?**

Female Empowerment is a movement that aims to raise the status of women in society through education, attention to feminist issues, and continuing education. It is not only about feminist liberation, but also and above all about equality with men. Female Empowerment is thus meant to help break down gender roles that have been inscribed for centuries.

## Why do we need female empowerment?

Priyanka Anjan Rao, a psychologist at Delhi University, sees female empowerment as a freedom movement. It aims to attribute more agency to women and help them make independent decisions.

Rao describes the subordinate role ascribed to women as socially constructed. In other words, the culture we live in is constructed in such a way that it is easy to push women into subordinate positions. Rao speaks here of a devaluation of women that is deeply rooted in society. It is inscribed as "truth" in our everyday lives, little girls internalize it as "female identity".

This "female identity" is still reflected in clichéd role models and their evaluation. Household chores, for example, are still wrongly classified as less valuable and - at least in classic role thinking - attributed to women. 

This is only a tiny part of a social phenomenon called patriarchy. To be sure, this phenomenon is in the process of changing. Female empowerment has long since become an important current. But the numbers still speak another language.

## Gender pay gap and domestic violence

First and foremost is the gender pay gap. Women still receive lower salaries in many professional sectors, even though they do the same work as men in the same positions, both qualitatively and quantitatively. The German Federal Statistical Office, for example, states that women will earn an average of 18 percent less per hour (!) than men in 2020. Nevertheless, the German government has set itself the goal of reducing the gender pay gap to 10 percent by 2030. But that is still far from fair.

If the gender pay gap is "only" about jobs and salaries, things don't look much better behind the curtains of German living rooms. The German Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (BMFSFJ), for example, writes that every third woman is a victim of physical and/or sexual violence at least once in her life. According to the BMFSFJ, one in four women is a victim of physical or sexual violence at least once, either by her current partner or by her former partner. For girls and women with disabilities, these numbers increase two to three times more. And these are only the numbers that are known. According to estimates, there is a high number of unreported cases that increase these numbers by quite a bit.

## Female Empowerment: What we can do

It should now be clear that Female Empowerment is not only important, but urgently needed. But what can we do to improve the situation for women? First, it is important to recognize that Female Empowerment is not about adopting "male" attributes. It is much more important to initiate a change in thinking and to recognize and promote one's own strengths. In this way, it can already help to question one's own beliefs. What do the terms "femininity" and "masculinity" mean to us? What of it is useful and what can go? Is it really important to be *strong, taciturn* and *dominant* in order to be *successful*? And what does success mean? The next step is to question these beliefs: do they really correspond to what we think is right? Or are they perhaps socially constructed?

If we start with this, we take a first step towards a more equal, peaceful and just society.

*You know you think in role stereotypes but can't get out? Check out our tips for Female Empowerment [here](https://app.hellodearest.io/article/female-empowerment-8-tips-for-more-self-determination). If you'd like, you're also welcome to book an appointment with one of our coaches to talk about your concerns - coaching can help a lot here!*

Sources: Priyanka Anjan Rao: Women's psychological empowerment: annihilation of cultural devaluation. In: Inernational Journal of Development Research. 2017

Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth: Recognizing forms of violence. Online publication, 2021.

Female empowerment is slowly arriving in our society. But there is still a long way to go before we can talk about equality. What can we all do?

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Female Empowerment: All genders are strong