Topic: Encouraging Political Participation by Women
Country: Germany
Delegate Name: Lia Bommarito
School: Williamston High School
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All Germany position papers GLIMUN 2017 committees
Throughout history, women were not seen as equal to men. Even in 2017, marginalization and oppression still persist in many regions and states. Because of a long history of sexism and institutionalized that dates back to the first functional societies, women are discouraged from participating in society politically. Oftentimes the political participation of a group can be measured by active voting, as well as how many parliament seats are held by women in each country; as of June 2016, only 22.8 percent of parliamentarians were women, a slow increase from the measured 11.3 percent in 1995, and women consistently vote less than men, even when usually the balance of genders is equal. However, activist groups from first-, second- and third-wave feminism, as well as political inclusionists and progressive agendas, have furthered the percent of women who are actively included in political activities. Some nations around the world are lead by women; nations such as Germany, led by Chancellor Angela Merkel, or Liberia, who is headed by President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf; even with these powerful examples of political progress, only 10 percent of United Nations member states have had a woman as head of state either in the past or now. Moreover, nations that set an example of female political participation are nations such as Rwanda and Bolivia, as they have the highest percentages of female participation in parliament (61.3 percent and 53.1 percent, respectively, while the international average is 23.3 percent). Even with various examples of feminine political progress, women are consistently less active in government, and with the female population equating fifty percent of the population, the political equivalent still differs. As previously mentioned, Germany is one of the few member states of the United Nations that has had a female head-of-state, and currently is under the term of Chancellor Angela Merkel. Merkel has been in power since 2005, going on 13 years, and is a global example of a dominant, influential woman in political power. As for parliament participation, Germany is higher than the world average with a 39.1 percent participation; but still only ranks number 22 in the world for female parliament percentages. Despite Merkel’s leadership, German sexism in politics still exists; despite the Chancellor being a woman, not many lower or mid-level governmental positions are held by women. Alice Schwarzer, the country’s best-known feminist, lends her quote to this issue: “Since 2005, little girls can decide: Do I become a hairdresser — or chancellor?” While the state of gendered politics and participation may outwardly seem fantastic, Germany still struggles with uplifting women; the climate for German women in politics is icy, but warmer than most nations. Germany does not have to deal with fundamental problems, such as removing all de facto restrictions on women’s suffrage, or dealing with assault on women for seeking education or leadership politically. However, Germany attempts to manage the onslaught of hidden problems such as a wage gap higher than the European average, lack of political representation in parliament, and “feminist” being perceived with a negative connotation. Whether or not Germany must handle fundamental issues, the international community has many nations still living in the midst of extreme misogyny. There is no nation that still does not allow women to vote; however, nations such as Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Afghanistan, where women have just gained the right to vote in the last 20 years, women still suffer from assault and gendered violence from attempting to vote. The fact that this de facto violence still persists although voting is legal deserves a written resolution addressing the issue. Also, Germany plans to resolve the issue through a detailed plan for nations to adapt as a long-term goal for the future, using “evolution rather than revolution” to implement gender quotas in government, aiming at least for the international average in parliaments – 22.3 percent – and for a gradual increase of 2 percent per year. Additionally, Germany plans to encourage political participation by implementing an ad campaign and initiative to encourage women to vote in all nations, aiming to close the gendered gap in voters, especially in developed nations where women’s suffrage is recent. Moreover, Germany plans to also focus on specific issues for developed nations, such as the pay gap and public perception of women’s rights and feminism. While Germany is a nation that claims to be a champion of women’s rights, moving forward, Germany hopes to tackle the topic head-on, and work with different nations of all backgrounds, such as Saudi Arabia, France, the United States of America, Rwanda, and Bolivia.
