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Most German women still feel disadvantaged

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Most German women still feel disadvantaged
Photo: DPA

As the world celebrated International Women's Day on Friday, a new poll found that four out of five German women don't feel that gender equality has been achieved in the country.

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Meanwhile, half of German men feel that women now enjoy equal rights with men, the YouGov survey revealed.

Germany's Federal Statistical Office found that there are still major inequalities between the sexes on the labour market. Women are much more likely to have part-time work than the European Union average, mainly because they have to look after children or invalid parents.

On top of that, a majority of women - in contrast to the majority of men - believe that gender quotas in certain jobs would be a good idea. While 56 percent of men oppose any gender quota (and 10 percent have no opinion), well over half of women (63 percent) support quotas meant to give more women access to leading positions.

German women were also found to be more disadvantaged than much of Europe.

Nearly half of German women with a job (45 percent) only work part-time - well below the EU average of 32 percent. Of all the EU member states, only Dutch women were more likely to work part-time.

German President Joachim Gauck called on Thursday for a more active debate on sexism in society. But the remarks were also seen as a reaction to the criticism he received for playing down a social media campaign sparked by reports of former Economy Minister Rainer Brüderle's inappropriate advances on a young journalist.

The Twitter hashtag #Aufschrei ("outcry"), initiated by freelance media consultant Anne Wizorek, was used by thousands of German women to describe their own experiences of sexism and sexual assault. In an interview with news magazine Der Spiegel published on Monday, Gauck dismissed the campaign as a "pious furore."

Several young women wrote an open letter accusing Gauck of lack of empathy with the everyday experiences of German women.

The Local/DPA/bk

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