whole world. it measures the gaps in a number of areas, including the economy, education and politics. it reports that, if current trends continue, the global gender gap could be closed in 83 years. girls born now would be on an equal footing at the end of their lives. there are, of course, enormous regional differences. the world economic forum estimates that in eastern europe and central asia it will take almost 150 years to achieve full gender equality ; in the middle east and north africa almost 130 years. at least by comparison, western europe is doing quite well : only 61 years. in my view, however, that ’ s not praise – far from it – but rather a reminder to progress more quickly. we are celebrating 100 years of women ’ s suffrage in germany next year. it ’ s about equality, but it ’ s also about democracy. for if half the population is economically dependent and not allowed to vote, then there is no democracy. it ’ s all the more alarming if parts of the political spectrum are still – or perhaps again – apparently propagating an image of women that is outdated. whoever does that is also trying to undermine democracy. to put it another way, if you fight for equality, you also fight for democracy. alas, today that seems to be becoming ever more necessary. thank you for your attention. 3 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches

less than their male colleagues even if they are just as qualified. they bump into the famous glass ceiling when they want to forge a career. and, above all, it is they who have to combine family and career – not the men. usually it ’ s the women who take parental leave, and usually it ’ s the women who take part - time work afterwards and who don ’ t progress so far careerwise as their husbands and colleagues. my impression is that many women see these matters as personal problems. they are that, of course, but they are more than that. they concern all women and the whole of society. and the situation will only change when we all expand our personal horizons and push for wholesale gender equality. 1 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches so my appeal to all young women is : don ’ t take gender equality for granted! be pro - active! stand up for your rights and the rights of others! the issue of equality is far from resolved. and by the way, equality is of course not only a matter for women themselves. why should it only be an issue for women to combine children and a career? where are the men, where are the fathers? i sometimes have the feeling that, despite all the progress, certain traditional roles are entrenched in people ’ s heads. and this applies not only to men but also to us women. we too are receptive to stereotypes. studies show that women, just like men, unconsciously discriminate according to sex – also in the workplace. what we need is a change of culture. and the starting point for that is to call into question not only the behaviour of others, but also our own. this is an important step which is often neglected. so it ’ s up to all of us to ensure greater gender equality. but politicians can help too. for example, they can improve the conditions under which women – or men – combine career and family. and then there are employment practices. employers should not only use equality as a recruitment tool ; they must also make equality possible in practice. that could be done, for example, with more flexible working hours ; employees should have greater freedom to allocate their time. why not pick up the children from school in the afternoon and then go back to your desk again in the evening? consider sweden. there it ’ s good form not to organise meetings after 4 p. m. so we can learn something if we only look around a little.