On the occasion of International Women’s Day, the President of the social association VdK, Verena Bentele, is calling for a nationwide holiday on March 8th. “I would like Women’s Day to become a public holiday throughout Germany,” Bentele told the newspapers of the Funke media group. “In this way, more attention would be drawn to the situation and the rights of women.” Currently March 8th is only a public holiday in Berlin and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
Women learn every day that they don’t really have equal rights, and that also applies to Germany, said Bentele. “They still earn less than men, are more likely to work in low-paying jobs, have lower pensions as a result, are less likely to be in management positions and do a lot more unpaid care work in their private lives.”
Bentele cited the treatment of female leaders in business and politics as an example of the structural disadvantage faced by women: Women are “constantly asked the question of who actually looks after their children.” Men, on the other hand, hardly hear these questions. “Especially in companies, the rules are predominantly made by men,” criticized the VdK president. That’s why creativity and imagination are often limited when it comes to the question of how employees’ work and family life can be reconciled.
