Inside Bonn’s 40-year effort to advance gender equality
The city of Bonn (Germany) signed the European Charter for Equality of Women and Men in Local Life nineteen years ago. Yet Bonn’s story promoting gender equality does not begin there. It stretches back more than forty years, to a time when gender equality was little more than an ambition, and when the structures needed to drive real change barely existed.
In 1984, Bonn established a dedicated Office for Equal Opportunities, a bold move for its time, signalling that equality was not an abstract value but a governance priority. By 1991, the city had introduced its first bylaws on equal opportunities. A decade later, in 2001, Bonn adopted its first comprehensive Equal Opportunities Plan, laying the foundations for long‑term, structural change in work, care, safety and representation.
Bonn’s commitment has remained unwavering. Today, the city hall maintains a near-equal gender balance in senior management, while women in middle management are empowered to assume leadership responsibilities through structured mentoring programmes.
Deputy Mayor of Bonn, Ursula Sautter, explains that the local administration “advocates and promotes equal care solutions” due to the “still unequal division of work and care”.
Sautter also highlights that the city actively combats all forms of violence and stands firmly with victims. This effort is reinforced by the new German Violence Assistance Act of 2025, which strengthens support frameworks across the country.
Bonn has been a signatory of CEMR’s European Charter for Equality since 2007, demonstrating its commitment to turning principles into action. As Sautter mentions, “the European Charter for Equality is a beacon of empowerment for us, uniting us with a multitude of diverse cities in this important endeavour”.
Ursula Sautter, Deputy Mayor of Bonn
20 years of the European Charter for Equality
This year, we mark the 20th anniversary of the European Charter for Equality, a milestone that invites reflection, celebration and renewed ambition.
Since its creation, the Charter has become one of Europe’s strongest frameworks for driving equality at the local and regional levels. Today, more than 2,053 signatories from 36 countries are part of this growing movement of cities, towns, and regions committed to turning equality principles into reality.
Developed by CEMR together with its national associations and project partners, the Charter brings together diverse European visions of equality. Hundreds of local and regional representatives contributed to shaping a shared framework that considers the diverse competences and contexts across Europe. Signing the Charter is a public and formal commitment, a pledge to advance gender equality through policies, programmes, and concrete actions implemented in cooperation with local partners and civil society.
While the Charter is not legally binding, it is intentionally ambitious. CEMR recognises that achieving these objectives requires time, dialogue, and structural change. That is why signatories are encouraged to adopt a progressive approach, identifying priority areas for action while steadily expanding their efforts.
To support signatories, CEMR established the European Observatory on the Charter, dedicated to helping local and regional authorities develop and implement strong equality policies.
The Observatory’s mission is threefold:
- Support the development of Local Action Plans for gender equality
- Monitor implementation and progress on the ground
- Evaluate impact and share knowledge across Europe
By connecting municipalities, facilitating exchanges, and making progress visible, the Observatory ensures that the Charter remains a living, evolving tool, anchored in real practice.
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Discover the story of Aubagne (France), which signed the European Charter for Equality in November 2025.
Bonn is a member of CEMR’s association Deutscher Städtetag.
For more information, please contact:
Senior Adviser, Governance, Gender Equality, Local Democracy
