Social Europe

politics, economy and employment & labour

  • Themes
    • Global cities
    • Strategic autonomy
    • War in Ukraine
    • European digital sphere
    • Recovery and resilience
  • Publications
    • Books
    • Dossiers
    • Occasional Papers
    • Research Essays
    • Brexit Paper Series
  • Podcast
  • Videos
  • Newsletter
  • Membership

What did the German federal election mean for equality and diversity in the Bundestag?

Anne Jenichen 19th October 2021

Despite the share of women and of representatives with a minority background increasing by a small margin, there is still a long way to go.

Bundestag,federal election,women,diversity,migrant background
The SPD is keen to promote the diversity of its new Bundestag intake—like 34-year-old Ye-One Rhie, representing Aachen

German citizens elected a new federal parliament on September 26th. While waiting for the winning parties to form a coalition government, it is worthwhile exploring what the election result means for equality and diversity. Such a glimpse into the composition of the new German legislature tells us that the Bundestag has become a bit more female and a bit more diverse—but not by much.

The share of women in the 20th Bundestag has only slightly increased, from 31.4 per cent after the previous election in 2017 to 34.7 per cent now. This slow rise in the number of seats held by women is primarily caused by the increase of votes for the social-democratic SPD and the Greens, two parties with much higher numbers of women among their candidates compared with the conservative CDU/CSU union and the right-wing AfD, which both lost seats.

Nevertheless, the proportion of female members of the Bundestag is still below the 36 per cent tally following the federal election in 2013. And given that about half of the German population are women, they are still significantly under-represented.

Apart from the FDP and the AfD, all major German parties have some sort of gender quota for the compilation of their party lists for elections. However, it seems that if these voluntary quotas are not raised, and consistently applied to the nomination not only of party list candidates but also of direct candidates in Germany’s mixed electoral system, a considerable rise in the number of women in the Bundestag is hard to imagine.


Become part of our Community of Thought Leaders


Get fresh perspectives delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for our newsletter to receive thought-provoking opinion articles and expert analysis on the most pressing political, economic and social issues of our time. Join our community of engaged readers and be a part of the conversation.

Sign up here

Important differences

The share of parliamentarians with a migration background has also slightly increased, from 8.2 per cent to at least 11.3 per cent. The main reason for this increase is similar to that for women, namely the shift of seats primarily towards the Greens and the SPD, which have been more open to candidates with a migration background than the CDU/CSU and liberal FDP. However, given that about one quarter of Germany’s population now has a migration background, this group remains woefully under-represented.

Moreover, Germany’s official term migration background disguises important differences within this group of parliamentarians. The German Statistical Office defines the population with a migration background as all persons who were not born with German citizenship or have at least one such parent. This definition lumps together a very heterogenous group, which can be seen as problematic because, at best, it incorrectly implies that all citizens with a migration background are subject to similar dynamics of discrimination. At worst, it makes racist discrimination invisible.

This issue becomes clear when looking more closely at the group of politicians with a migration background in the new Bundestag. Taking the survey by Mediendienst Integration as a basis, more than 40 per cent of all members of the new Bundestag with a migration background have roots in other European countries, while only about 23 per cent have a Turkish background, the largest immigrant group in Germany, and only three representatives are black (which nevertheless is more than double the number in the last Bundestag).

It is also telling that most of the latter members of the Bundestag represent the SPD, the Greens and the Left, whereas almost all members of the new Bundestag representing the CDU/CSU and FDP have a European background. Even though the rising number of representatives with a migration background is good news for diversity in the Bundestag, this number tells only half the story in relation to the integration of non-European immigrants and their children into German politics. When it comes to capturing equal—or rather unequal—access to political power, the German definition of a migration background certainly lacks nuance.

Intersectional perspective

Finally, it is worth emphasising that identities are not shaped by just one category, such as gender or ethnic background. Therefore, it is important to assume an intersectional perspective to understand better how sexist and racist discrimination interact. When looking, for instance, at the group of MPs with a migration background, what is perhaps most surprising is that more than half of them are women.

There are several possible explanations for this, including the fact that female politicians with a migration background benefit from both party gender quotas and the attempt to create more diverse party lists. Nominating a woman with a migration background ticks both boxes—and, at the same time, leaves more space for white men. In contrast, in parties that do not apply gender quotas, such as the FDP and the AfD, women are considerably under-represented in both the migration-background and non-migration-background groups.

Another reason may be that racist stereotypes portray immigrant men as more threatening, associating them with violence and crime, whereas women are often depicted as victims in need of protection. That such stereotypes affect candidate selection is suggested by the fact that the share of women among MPs with a Turkish or non-European migration background in many parties (the CDU, SPD and Greens) is considerably higher than among MPs with a European migration background.

State parliaments

However, despite what these results might suggest, women with a migration background are not automatically better represented in the German political system than their male counterparts. A closer look into German state parliaments reveals the effect of differences in electoral systems. The continuous under-representation of women with a migration background in the states of Bremen and Bavaria, for instance, suggests that open list systems can be unfavourable for minority women if voters are less inclined to give their votes to female candidates.


Support Progressive Ideas: Become a Social Europe Member!


Support independent publishing and progressive ideas by becoming a Social Europe member for less than 5 Euro per month. You can help us create more high-quality articles, podcasts and videos that challenge conventional thinking and foster a more informed and democratic society. Join us in our mission - your support makes all the difference!

Become a Social Europe Member

This may be the case if male candidates with more resources and better networks at their disposal than women specifically mobilise for personal votes within immigrant communities in which patriarchal attitudes prevail. Furthermore, interviews I have conducted with female politicians with a visible migration background suggest that party elites, who serve as important gatekeepers in intra-party recruitment and nomination processes, only selectively promote visible-minority women. Depending on their preferences, some female politicians with a migration background get access to intra-party institutions that are important for political careers, while others are overlooked or even discriminated against.

These results suggest that if German political parties want to contribute to a noticeable increase in equality and diversity in German politics, they will need to consider raising and consistently implementing gender quotas. They will also need to provide systematic support systems for potential candidates from disadvantaged groups, regardless of whether they are female, have a migration background or are subject to another form of discrimination.

The results of the federal election show that, so far, such efforts have not been enough to really make a difference.

This first appeared on the London School of Economics EUROPP blog

federal election,Bundestag,women,diversity,migration background,minority,minorities
Anne Jenichen

Anne Jenichen is a senior lecturer in politics and international relations at Aston University, Birmingham, and its Aston Centre for Europe. Her research interests include the political representation of women and intersectional groups, primarily in German politics, as well as international policies promoting the rights of members of disadvantaged groups, especially women and religious minorities.

You are here: Home / Politics / What did the German federal election mean for equality and diversity in the Bundestag?

Most Popular Posts

Russia,information war Russia is winning the information warAiste Merfeldaite
Nanterre,police Nanterre and the suburbs: the lid comes offJoseph Downing
Russia,nuclear Russia’s dangerous nuclear consensusAna Palacio
Belarus,Lithuania A tale of two countries: Belarus and LithuaniaThorvaldur Gylfason and Eduard Hochreiter
retirement,Finland,ageing,pension,reform Late retirement: possible for many, not for allKati Kuitto

Most Recent Posts

OECD,inflation,monetary The OECD and the Great Monetary RestrictionRonald Janssen
prostitution,Europe,abolition Prostitution is not a free choice for womenLina Gálvez Muñoz
Abuse,work,workplace,violence Abuse at work: who bears the brunt?Agnès Parent-Thirion and Viginta Ivaskaite-Tamosiune
Ukraine,fatigue Ukraine’s cause: momentum is diminishingStefan Wolff and Tetyana Malyarenko
Vienna,social housing Vienna social-housing model: celebrated but misusedGabu Heindl

Other Social Europe Publications

strategic autonomy Strategic autonomy
Bildschirmfoto 2023 05 08 um 21.36.25 scaled 1 RE No. 13: Failed Market Approaches to Long-Term Care
front cover Towards a social-democratic century?
Cover e1655225066994 National recovery and resilience plans
Untitled design The transatlantic relationship

Eurofound advertisement

Eurofound Talks: does Europe have the skills it needs for a changing economy?

In this episode of the Eurofound Talks podcast, Mary McCaughey speaks with Eurofound’s research manager, Tina Weber, its senior research manager, Gijs van Houten, and Giovanni Russo, senior expert at CEDEFOP (The European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training), about Europe’s skills challenges and what can be done to help workers and businesses adapt to future skills demands.

Listen where you get your podcasts, or for free, by clicking on the link below


LISTEN HERE

Foundation for European Progressive Studies Advertisement

The summer issue of the Progressive Post magazine by FEPS is out!

The Special Coverage of this new edition is dedicated to the importance of biodiversity, not only as a good in itself but also for the very existence of humankind. We need a paradigm change in the mostly utilitarian relation humans have with nature.

In this issue, we also look at the hazards of unregulated artificial intelligence, explore the shortcomings of the EU's approach to migration and asylum management, and analyse the social downside of the EU's current ethnically-focused Roma policy.


DOWNLOAD HERE

Hans Böckler Stiftung Advertisement

WSI European Collective Bargaining Report 2022 / 2023

With real wages falling by 4 per cent in 2022, workers in the European Union suffered an unprecedented loss in purchasing power. The reason for this was the rapid increase in consumer prices, behind which nominal wage growth fell significantly. Meanwhile, inflation is no longer driven by energy import prices, but by domestic factors. The increased profit margins of companies are a major reason for persistent inflation. In this difficult environment, trade unions are faced with the challenge of securing real wages—and companies have the responsibility of making their contribution to returning to the path of political stability by reducing excess profits.


DOWNLOAD HERE

ETUI advertisement

The future of remote work

The 12 chapters collected in this volume provide a multidisciplinary perspective on the impact and the future trajectories of remote work, from the nexus between the location from where work is performed and how it is performed to how remote locations may affect the way work is managed and organised, as well as the applicability of existing legislation. Additional questions concern remote work’s environmental and social impact and the rapidly changing nature of the relationship between work and life.


AVAILABLE HERE

About Social Europe

Our Mission

Article Submission

Membership

Advertisements

Legal Disclosure

Privacy Policy

Copyright

Social Europe ISSN 2628-7641

Social Europe Archives

Search Social Europe

Themes Archive

Politics Archive

Economy Archive

Society Archive

Ecology Archive

Follow us

RSS Feed

Follow us on Facebook

Follow us on Twitter

Follow us on LinkedIn

Follow us on YouTube