Not Without Us!

How women shaped history - and how they were written out of it. Historian Heike Specht warns of a new backlash.

Men in gold-plated offices, laws rolling back women's rights, "manfluencers" and rising misogyny: a certain brand of male dominance is on the march again worldwide. Gender equality is under serious pressure. The pattern is nothing new - time and again women drove change forward, only to be silenced and erased from the historical record.

From early Christian women to French revolutionaries to the Iranian women taking to the streets today: Heike Specht, Mirijam Trunk, and Martin Speer discuss the power of female ideas and action. How can what has been erased be made visible again, and how can the myth of "natural" inequality be exposed?

Heike Specht (b. 1974) studied history and literary studies in Munich, completed her doctorate on the family of Lion Feuchtwanger, and worked for several years as a publishing editor. She now lives in Zurich as a freelance author. Her recent books include "Ihre Seite der Geschichte. Deutschland und seine First Ladies von 1949 bis heute" and "Die Ersten ihrer Art. Frauen verändern die Welt" (both Piper).

Mirijam Trunk (b. 1991 in Bamberg) studied psychology, communications, and political science in Munich and Washington, D.C. After graduating from the Deutsche Journalistenschule, she worked as a reporter at Bayerischer Rundfunk before joining the senior leadership of Bertelsmann. As a media executive, LinkedIn Top Voice, and author, she advocates for structural equal opportunity in Germany.

Martin Speer (b. 1986) grew up in Bavaria and studied economics and communications in the US and Germany. He is one half of the consulting and writing duo "Herr & Speer", which produces articles and books and delivers keynotes and workshops on male allyship and European integration.