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Event Summary: Women’s Issues in Current German Politics
On March 22nd, American Friends of Bucerius, in partnership with the American Council on Germany, held a discussion and luncheon as part of the 2016 Transatlantic Global Agenda Series. Alston & Bird LLP hosted the event, where we heard from Ursula Groden-Kranich, member of the German Bundestag, about her take on the state of women’s issues in current German Politics.
Germany is ahead of many countries in terms of gender equality, but there are still strides to be made. Some obstacles women face include underrepresentation in government, work-life balance, and lack of recognition in the arts. Legislative efforts have been made in the form of a quota act on gender equality, but enforcing a quota presents its own issues in terms of fair evaluation. Ultimately, quotas should be seen as a “bridge solution” rather than a permanent one.
The refugee crisis has brought to light a different side of the fight for gender equality, for both migrants and German citizens. Female refugees face the intersectionality when they are met with sexism and racism by two different communities. They are discriminated against by their native culture as well as Germany’s, and have to find a home for themselves somewhere within that. And then there is the issue of integrating refugees into German society – many have been raised with vastly different beliefs and ways of life which, at times, come into conflict with the established social norms and values of German society. There is still ongoing debate about how to ensure that certain values – such as gender equality – remain inalienable rights for anyone and everyone who lives in the country.
Ms. Groden-Kranich shed light on these topics and more, as discussion opened up to questions from attendees. There aren’t clear answers to the sociopolitical turbulence in Germany’s landscape, but open discussions such as these are the way forward.
Ursula Groden-Kranich has served as a member of the German Bundestag for the CDU since 2013. She is a member of the Bundestag Committee on the Affairs of the European Union and the Committee on Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women, and Youth. She also serves as a substitute member of the Committee on Cultural and Media Affairs. Mrs. Groden-Kranich originally trained as a bank clerk at Landesbank Rheinland-Pfalz, now known as Rheinland-Pfalz Bank (LBBW Group), and worked as an investment advisor at the bank from 1987 to 2013. Since 1994, she has been a member of the Mainz-Hechtsheim local council in an advisory capacity and a member of the Mainz City Council since 1999. She was a local representative for Mainz-Hechtsheim from 2004 to July 2014. Mrs. Groden-Kranich is Deputy Chairwoman of the Mainz-Bingen County branch of the German Red Cross, Chairwoman of the Mainz-Hechtsheim local branch of the German Red Cross, Chairwoman of the St. Pancratius Community and Church Building Association, and a member of the Mainz Cathedral Building Society and of the Board of Trustees of the Ingelheim Further Education Centre (WBZ) at the Fridtjof Nansen Academy.