Economic justice is ultimately about dignity

Dr Katja Kerschbaumer, Head of Austrian Embassy/Development Cooperation, in her opening remarks at the 9^th Annual Women Human Rights Defenders’ Conference 2026, called on women human rights defenders to remember that economic justice is ultimately about dignity. It is about whether women can make decisions about their own lives. Whether they can build assets. Whether they can create opportunities for their children. Whether they can fulfil their potential. And whether they can move from merely surviving to truly thriving. Because when women prosper, families prosper. When families prosper, communities prosper. And when communities prosper, nations prosper.