Berlin (dpa) – The leadership of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats wants to to increase female representation within the party to 50 per cent within three years, according to a draft document seen by dpa.
In it, the heads of the conservative party’s commission for structural matters say they want to achieve total gender parity when it comes to government positions and parliamentary seats.
The commission was expected to hold conclusive talks on the matter later Tuesday.
The 16-page document also sets out plans to recognize a group of gay and lesbian members of the CDU, known as the LSU, as an official organization within the party.
It remains unclear whether the party will indeed set in stone a target for gender parity. There has been considerable resistance to such a move from within the CDU.
At best, the structural commission can nail down a proposal ahead of a CDU party conference in early December in Stuttgart, where delegates would vote on whether to adopt new measures.
Women are well presented in the CDU’s highest ranks – with Merkel as head of government and Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer currently serving as defence minister and party leader.
However, in the Bundestag parliament, women make up just over 20 per cent of Merkel’s conservative bloc, which also includes the regional CSU sister party.
By comparison, their Social Democrat (SPD) coalition partners are way ahead, with women making up around 43 per cent of the SPD parliamentary faction.
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