Women - men - gender. - Bibliothek der Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung

34
POLITICS AND TRADE UNIONS
“A lot still remains to be done...”
In Conversation with Claudia Menne, German Trade Union Federation
For the past four years, Claudia
Menne (right) is the Head of the
Department for Gender Equality
and Women’s Policy on the
Na tional Executive Board of the
German Trade Union Federation.
She shares her experience with
politics and industry in conversation
with Anne Seyfferth, Head of
the Forum for Politics and Society
at FES.
Since 2001, there is a “voluntary
agreement” with the top central
associations of German industry to
promote equal opportunities for
women and men in the private sector.
But we are still a long way off from
achieving that goal. Do trade unions
have to increase the pressure on
politics and industry?
We organized a workshop on “More
Opportunities for Women in the
Private Sector“ for women’s representatives
in companies. We were
astounded at how few companies
actually have this position. Why is
this so? Can trade unions play a more
active role in this case?
We have to pin our hopes on the next legislative period. In the recent
past, there have been a variety of proposals, for example, the quota in
the supervisory boards. We continue to believe that legal regulations
are required. After three audits, the “voluntary agreement” is a failure.
Now, during the election campaign, all the parties, from the liberals to
the left, are knocking at our doors. Anyway, at least the willingness to
change currently pervades all the parties.
The works councils in the concerned companies can do something
about it. We have repeatedly discussed where best to locate representatives
responsible for gender equality: in the personnel department or
in the employee union representation. At the end of the day, however,
it really depends on teamwork. There are also demands for setting up
a panel, since in large companies, in particular, individual representatives
cannot achieve much on their own.
FRIEDRICH-EBERT-STIFTUNG