Merkel’s party confronts sexism charges

AFP, BERLIN: A leader of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative party admitted Sunday that it has a problem with sexism in its ranks, after a female politician spoke out about vulgar and belittling comments.
Peter Tauber, general secretary of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), told the Bild am Sonntag newspaper that remarks made public by Berlin CDU politician Jenna Behrends, 26, were not an isolated incident.
“I hear about stories like these again and again, but without names. That makes it hard to do anything about it,” Tauber said.
“We need a new sensitivity in all areas of society because sexism is not just a problem in politics.”
Behrends made national headlines last week when she spoke out against gender discrimination within the CDU, saying that a member of the Berlin city-state’s government had called her a “big sweet mouse” in front of a group of people. She said the same official asked another member of the party, using offensive language, whether he was having a sexual relationship with Behrends.
She told Bild that she had received “a lot of positive feedback” for coming forward. Merkel shattered party conventions when she, as a childless, Protestant woman from the former communist East, became CDU leader in 2000 following a long line of Roman Catholic family men from the west.
The chancellor, who has led Germany since 2005, on Sunday criticised German industry for failing to root out gender inequality on its own, in an interview with business magazine Wirtschaftswoche. Citing the example of a quota introduced this year requiring Germany’s biggest companies to fill at least 30 percent of their supervisory board seats with women, Merkel lamented that executives in Europe’s top economy had to be forced into fair treatment. 

Merkels party confronts sexism charges

AFP, BERLIN: A leader of German Chancellor Angela Merkels conservative party admitted Sunday that it has a problem with sexism in its ranks, after a female politician spoke out about vulgar and belittling comments. Peter Tauber, general secretary of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), told the Bild am Sonntag newspaper that remarks made public by Berlin CDU politician Jenna Behrends, 26, were not an isolated incident. I hear about stories like these again and again, but without names. That makes it hard to do anything about it, Tauber said. We need a new sensitivity in all areas of society because sexism is not just a problem in politics. Behrends made national headlines last week when she spoke out against gender discrimination within the CDU, saying that a member of the Berlin city-states government had called her a big sweet mouse in front of a group of people. She said the same official asked another member of the party, using offensive language, whether he was having a sexual relationship with Behrends. She told Bild that she had received a lot of positive feedback for coming forward. Merkel shattered party conventions when she, as a childless, Protestant woman from the former communist East, became CDU leader in 2000 following a long line of Roman Catholic family men from the west. The chancellor, who has led Germany since 2005, on Sunday criticised German industry for failing to root out gender inequality on its own, in an interview with business magazine Wirtschaftswoche. Citing the example of a quota introduced this year requiring Germanys biggest companies to fill at least 30 percent of their supervisory board seats with women, Merkel lamented that executives in Europes top economy had to be forced into fair treatment.