International Women's Day taking off in Hamburg Metropolitan Region

6 March 2025

International Women's Day falls on March 8, 2025 - a look at how women enter a profession and move up the ladder in Hamburg Metropolitan Region

Things are moving towards equality. More women are now in management positions in companies listed on Germany's DAX and 26 per cent of board members are female. Women are also catching up when it comes to startups. In 2023, the proportion of female founders reached a record 44 per cent, and the gender pay gap also fell from 18 per cent in 2023 to 16 per cent in 2024. Although equality is still a long way off, progress is being made in many areas. Many initiatives and networks in the Hamburg Metropolitan Region are committed to supporting women.

Career counselling in Schleswig-Holstein

The FRAU & BERUF counselling centres in Schleswig-Holstein offer individual counselling, workshops and coaching on everything from re-entering the labour market to starting a business, training and further education to work-life balance issues. Other free local advice centres can be found throughout Schleswig-Holstein. The Investitionsbank Schleswig-Holstein has a special offer for female founders and entrepreneurs. Subsidy guides provide advice on all aspects of financing and grants, and also highlight schemes for applications, business plans, etc. Tandem schemes in which experienced entrepreneurs take young women under their wing are particularly helpful. Female entrepreneurs at WEstartupSH share their experiences with the next generation.

"Winning Women" contact point in Lower Saxony

The Frauen gewinnen web portal is the main point of contact for women in Lower Saxony on all work-related issues and starting a business. The website lists the addresses of advice centres throughout Lower Saxony, provides tips for women setting up a business and all the latest news on funding schemes. The calendar provides information on workshops, trade fairs, the contents of a LinkedIn profile and how to start a part-time business and having foreign professional qualifications officially recognised. The investment and development bank NBank also lends its support to startups and entrepreneurs. Although there are no special schemes for women, it is worth doing some research. The NBank offers a range of schemes including grants for startups to subsidies for trade fairs, digitalisation projects and loans for investments.

Mentoring in Mecklenburg-West Pomerania

A mentoring scheme in Mecklenburg-West Pomerania aims to put more women in management positions. Networking is essential for women who want to climb the career ladder or turn a business idea into reality. The Beyond Peers community, for instance, hosts digital meetings for women and links them up with local contacts. More information can be found on Gründungswerft and GründerMV. The websites also highlight events and competitions, taxes, and insurance issues as well as business plan tools. Both websites target all genders and are run by the Mecklenburg-West Pomerania Institute for Regional Development.

Projects for women in Hamburg

The European Social Fund Plus scheme in Hamburg helps people to train and gain qualifications and also features coaching for self-employed women, qualification opportunities for immigrants or taster courses in the trades. The Pro Exzellenzia Lead targets highly qualified women in Hamburg and offers workshops on topics such as leadership, public speaking and work-life balance. Female scientists can also apply for grants. The hei Hamburger Existenzsgründunginitiative offers aspiring (male and female) entrepreneurs counselling, seminars and networking events. Hamburg Invest's Startup Unit helps female entrepreneurs find suitable networks, financial backing and with other business-related issues. The Hamburg Investment and Development Bank IFB offers women financial support for promising business projects. And Hamburg Startups STARTERiN scheme aims to raise women’s visibility.

Germany-wide networks

Aspiring entrepreneurs are advised to contact both regional and nationwide initiatives. The Gründerinnenagentur focuses on female startups, entrepreneurs and business successors throughout Germany. The Association of Women Entrepreneurs in Germany connects and inspires women in leadership positions and managers. Initiatives for specific sectors or target groups include Digital Media Women, the VDI Association of German Engineers or the MY TURN initiative for women with a migrant background.
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