When the world gets closer.

We help you see farther.

Sign up to our expressly international daily newsletter.

Already a subscriber? Log in.

You've reach your limit of free articles.

Get unlimited access to Worldcrunch

You can cancel anytime.

SUBSCRIBERS BENEFITS

Ad-free experience NEW

Exclusive international news coverage

Access to Worldcrunch archives

Monthly Access

30-day free trial, then $2.90 per month.

Annual Access BEST VALUE

$19.90 per year, save $14.90 compared to monthly billing.save $14.90.

Subscribe to Worldcrunch
Germany

Angela Merkel's Party Risks Reverting To Male Domination

The debate about Angela Merkel’s successor shows that her CDU party is lacking in powerful women to take the party forward. As strange as it seems, her party still has a long way to go to achieve gender equality.

Auf wiedersehen, gender equality
Auf wiedersehen, gender equality
Cerstin Gammelin

BERLIN — A week after CDU party leader Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer's shock announcement that she will be stepping down, Norbert Röttgen – the first candidate who has put himself forward to replace her – has laid out his plans for the party if he were elected.

Röttgen belongs to the ranks of men who during Merkel's time in power have found themselves pushed to the back benches after an embarrassing blunder – in his case, a humiliating local election defeat in North Rhine-Westphalia. He stuck it out though, which shows courage — and yet raises questions.

For 20 years now, it has been women – most prominently Angela Merkel – who have been at the helm of the CDU. But now that there's a leadership contest to choose her successor, no women are joining the race. Promising candidates such as the party's deputy leader Julia Klöckner and Susanne Eisenmann, Culture Minister for the state of Baden-Württemberg, have not put themselves forward. That's a shame, and it sends the wrong signal to women in the CDU. If they won't put themselves in the mix, they shouldn't be surprised when male colleagues set the tone of the debate, vaunting their own capabilities with perhaps a little too much self-confidence.

There are structural reasons why women are not putting themselves forward.

To avoid any misunderstandings: of course it doesn't say anywhere in the CDU's constitution that only women can be party leader. Of course, after two decades of female leadership, there can be a male successor. But there can equally be a female one. This isn't a question of whether a man or a woman takes on the leadership, but of how the CDU can preserve its reputation as a party that appeals to men and women, old and young, from all walks of life. That will not be possible if it doesn't attract female voters.

The CDU chairmanship remains vacant after AKK's resignation: Kay Nietfeld/DPA via ZUMA Press

There are structural reasons why women are not putting themselves forward, but the causes also lie in the party's internal relations. The late hours involved in politics put many women off, as does the fact that they are still often judged on physical appearance. And the CDU has still not achieved equality within the party. The fact that there has been one female Chancellor has distracted from the reality that the party still has a long way to go in terms of gender equality.

Merkel was groundbreaking in many ways: as a Protestant, an East German and a physicist with a PhD. But now that her Chancellorship is coming to an end and her anointed female successor has thrown in the towel, it is clear that the CDU is lacking in female leaders. It has no female state Minister Presidents, only one woman among its regional party leaders, and hardly any female mayors or municipal council leaders. Only one fifth of the party's representatives in parliament are women. This cannot be allowed to continue if the CDU is to be a party that genuinely represents society.

You've reached your limit of free articles.

To read the full story, start your free trial today.

Get unlimited access. Cancel anytime.

Exclusive coverage from the world's top sources, in English for the first time.

Insights from the widest range of perspectives, languages and countries.

This Happened — May 30: First Indy 500 Race

The first Indianapolis 500 car race was held on this day in 1911. The race is 500 miles long, and is commonly known as the "Indy 500."

Get This Happened straight to your inbox ✉️ each day! Sign up here.

Keep reading...Show less

You've reached your limit of free articles.

To read the full story, start your free trial today.

Get unlimited access. Cancel anytime.

Exclusive coverage from the world's top sources, in English for the first time.

Insights from the widest range of perspectives, languages and countries.

Already a subscriber? Log in.

You've reach your limit of free articles.

Get unlimited access to Worldcrunch

You can cancel anytime.

SUBSCRIBERS BENEFITS

Ad-free experience NEW

Exclusive international news coverage

Access to Worldcrunch archives

Monthly Access

30-day free trial, then $2.90 per month.

Annual Access BEST VALUE

$19.90 per year, save $14.90 compared to monthly billing.save $14.90.

Subscribe to Worldcrunch

The latest