Who is allowed to reproduce? Reproductive Racism and Global Inequalities

Fertility, pregnancy, birth, and parenting are neither experienced nor available equally. They are shaped by racialised systems of control and governance. 

From population policies and migration regimes to unequal access to reproductive healthcare, decisions about who gets to have children - and under what conditions - are deeply political.

This webinar examines how reproductive racism continues to produce inequality and determines whose lives and reproduction are supported, and whose are subjected to control.

We happy to have a phenomenal group of speakers - Sophia Siddiqui, Dr Sethembiso-Promise Mthembu, and Susanne Schultz - who will unpack how fertility, pregnancy, birth, and parenting are shaped by systems of power, inequality, and governance across different global contexts. 

Sophia Siddiqui is a researcher at the Institute of Race Relations and Joint Editor of Race & Class. Her work focuses on anti-racist feminism, the far right, and reproductive racism in Europe, examining how reproduction is mobilised within contemporary racial capitalism and far-right politics. 

Dr Sethembiso-Promise Mthembu is a feminist scholar and Executive Director of Her Rights Initiative. With more than two decades of experience in HIV, women’s rights, and development policy, her work focuses on the political economy of motherhood, reproductive justice, and the lived realities of women in marginalised communities. 

Susanne Schultz is a feminist researcher and scholar working on reproductive politics, population policy, and demographic governance, with a focus on how reproductive questions are shaped by inequality, state policy, and global power relations. 

The discussion will be moderated by Irina Herb, member of PRINA – Politiken der Reproduktion. 

Organized and supported by the Global Unit for Feminism and Gender Democracy, the Gunda Werner Institute, and the PRiNA Network.

Contact:

Naida Kucukalic, Global Unit for Feminism and Gender Democracy naida.kucukalic@de.boell.org

Amina Nolte, Gunda Werner Institute nolte@boell.de 

Web 2: 30 June, 2026 Who is allowed to reproduce? Reproductive Racism and Global Inequalities (Sophia Siddiqui, Sethembiso-Promise Mthembu, and Susanne Schultz) - Register here -

Web 3: 7 July, 2026 Who shapes the future of reproduction? Future of Reproduction: Demographic anxieties and Reproductive Technologies (Helen Hester and June Sternbach) - Register here -