Equality heroes

Campaigning for greater gender equality in society and working life, and respect for human rights: We introduce you to three strong women who fight for the rights of women. 

Kenza Ait Si Abbou – raising the profile of female tech experts 

“When I was a little girl, I wanted to have a notepad and a pen so that I could solve maths problems,” writes Kenza Ait Si Abbou, talking about her childhood in Morocco. “I have since swapped pad and pen for a PC – but I’m still just as fascinated by numbers.” These days, the electrical engineering graduate is keen to get others interested in programming, artificial intelligence and other topics from the STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) – either using books like “Keine Panik, ist nur Technik” (Don’t panic, it’s just technology) or as a mentor. Her focus is particularly on girls and young women for whom she wants to be a role model, in line with the idea of “You can’t be what you can’t see”.

Laleh Osmany – fighting for women in Afghanistan  

“Women in Afghanistan are stripped of their fundamental right to their own name, to their own identity,” says Laleh Osmany. A women’s rights activist, she campaigned in her home country for the mother’s name to be included on birth certificates. But then the Taliban seized power in August 2021 and Laleh Osmany had to flee. Now based in Berlin, she is continuing to fight for the rights of oppressed women and girls in Afghanistan.

Henrike von Platen – achieving more fairness in the corporate world 

Henrike von Platen loves discussing women and money – be it the gender quota or wage justice – especially since too few people do so, in her opinion. Accordingly, the business informatics expert and economist entitled her book “Über Geld spricht man” (One does talk about money). The Fair Pay Innovation Lab she set up supports companies with implementing fair pay schemes and issues them with a Universal Fair Pay Check certificate. So it’s hardly surprising that von Platen describes herself as a “fair payist”.

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