EU Delegation to China and UN Women hold a seminar on Building a Gender-Inclusive Workplace for Women Workers’ Employment and Career Development

28.11.2024

Beijing

Press and information team of the Delegation to CHINA

The Delegation of the European Union to China and UN Women China, in close collaboration with the China Entreprise Confederation (CEC) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) Office for China and Mongolia, organized a seminar that gathered several speakers and experts from China and the European Union to discuss gender equality policies at work. The seminar took place in the run-up to the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration on Women’s Empowerment. On the eve of this important occasion, the seminar enabled participants to share policies and good practices that aim to make workplaces are safer and enable women to mature in their professional life and enjoy career development opportunities.

Ellen Kelly, Head of Cooperation of the EU Delegation, recalled in her welcoming remarks that “gender equality is a fundamental value of the European Union” and “tackling gender gaps, specifically in the labour market, is one of the main objectives of the EU Gender Equality strategy.” Noting that the seminar has taken place during the 16 days of activism to eliminate violence against women, she stressed the importance of adopting “measures (…) within the workplace to empower women and break down harmful stereotypes (to) contribute to eliminating gender based violence”. She encouraged participants to continue progressing through such “policy discussions (so that they may) lead to policy decisions which will make positive change last in the longer term, not just for today’s women workers, but for those to come in the future”.

European Union, 2024

Ms. Maya Schwiegershausen-Güth from the German Embassy to China, Ms. Cecilia Tinonin from UN Women Regional Office for Asia and Pacific, and Prof. Liu Bohong from the All-China Women's Federation, enlightened the audience with insights from different perspectives to engage into a fruitful discussion.