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Three Steps Back for Women: German Unification, Gender, and University “Reform”

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2013

Myra Marx Ferree  and
Brigitte Young
Myra Marx Ferree
Affiliation:
University of Connecticut
Brigitte Young
Affiliation:
Wesleyan University
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Extract

The process of German unification has been a series of political surprises. Before the chain of events of summer and fall 1989 that led to the fall of the Wall on November 9, 1989, few could have predicted the “change of direction” (die Wende) of the government that followed. Fewer still would have suspected how quickly the overthrow of Honecker and his government would be supplanted by a drive toward economic and then political unification. In less than a year, on December 3, 1990, the GDR ceased to exist, being wholly absorbed as five new states in the existing legal and political structures of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG). This has meant a wholesale restructuring of every social institution in the German Democratic Republic (GDR), not merely the economy; the method of unification chosen meant that all East German laws and organizations had to be brought into conformity with a virtually unaltered West German legal and social system.

This process has been troubled and troubling in many different respects, but not the least of the surprises to many observers has been the important role gender has played in the unification process. Not only did the government face sufficient protest that it needed to defer reconciling the different legal regulations of abortion in the two states, but shortly after the unification treaty was signed and its practical consequences began to be felt, the observation became commonplace that “women were the losers” in this process.

Type
Research Article
Information
PS: Political Science & Politics , Volume 26 , Issue 2 , June 1993 , pp. 199 - 205
Copyright
Copyright © The American Political Science Association 1993

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Footnotes

*

The authors wish to thank Margit Mayer, Carol Hagemann-White, Wayne Villemez, Christiane Lemke, Theresa Wobbe, and Friedhelm Neidhardt for their comments and suggestions on the previous draft. They are not responsible for any errors of fact or interpretation that might remain despite their advice.

References

Notes

1. See, for example, Kampmann, Olaf, “Frauen haben kaum Chancen,” Tageszeitung, Nov. 7, 1990 Google Scholar, or Schmidt, Holger, “Frauen sind die großen Verlierer am DDR-Arbeitsmarkt,” Frankfurter Rundschau, Sept. 12, 1990 Google Scholar.

2. Merkel, Ina et al. , Ohne Frauen ist kein Staat zu machen, Unabhängiger Frauenverband und Autonome Frauenredaktion im Argument, Hamburg: Argument Verlag, 1990 Google Scholar. See also Streit, Petra, “Raising Consciousness,” German Politics & Society, 1991–2, 24–5: 10–15 Google Scholar, and Rosenberg, Dorothy, “Shock Therapy: GDR Women in Transition from a Socialist Welfare State to a Social Market Economy,” Signs, 1991, 17(1): 129–51CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

3. See the various articles in Feminist Review, Special Issue: Shifting Territories: Feminism and Europe, 1991, 39 (Winter), especially that by Barbara Einhorn, “Where Have All the Women Gone? Women and the Women's Movement in East Central Europe.” On the formation of the UFV, see Hampele, Anne, “Der unabhängige Frauenverband,” pp. 221–82Google Scholar in Müller-Enbergs, Helmut, Schulz, Mariane, Wielgohs, Jan, Von der Illegalität ins Parlament, Berlin: Links-Druck, 1991 Google Scholar.

4. Dölling, Irene, “Between Hope and Helplessness: Women in the GDR after the ‘Turning Point,’” Feminist Review, 1991 (39): 3–15 Google Scholar, as well as Hampele, op. cit., and Rosenberg, op. cit.

5. Berghahn, Sabine and Fritzsche, Andrea, Frauenrecht in Ost und West Deutschland, Berlin: Basisdruck, 1991 Google Scholar.

6. Winkler, Gunnar, ed., Frauenreport '90. Berlin: Verlag Die Wirtschaft, 1990, pp. 108–13Google Scholar.

7. This compares to 10.2% in the FRG, Statistisches Jahrbuch, 1990, p. 75, Table 3.22; see also Gysi, Jutta, “Frauen in Partnerschaft und Familie,” pp. 90–119 Google Scholar in Wir wollen mehr als ein Vaterland: DDR-Frauen im Aufbruch, Schwarz, Gislinde and Zenner, Christine, eds. Reinbek bei Hamburg: Rowohlt, 1990 Google Scholar.

8. For comparisons, see: Gerhard, Ute, “German Women and the Social Costs of Unification,” German Politics & Society, 1991–1992, 24/25: 16–33 Google Scholar; Rueschemeyer, Marilyn and Schissler, Hanna, “Women in the Two Germanies,” German Studies Review, 1990: 71–85 Google Scholar.

9. In law, until this reform, married women needed their husbands' permission to enter the labor force. See Ostner, Ilona, “Ideas, Institutions, Traditions: The Experience of West German Women, 1945–1990,” German Politics & Society, 1991–1992, 24–5: 87–99 Google Scholar.

10. Based on interviews conducted with city and state Equality Officers in Berlin, Potsdam, and Leipzig, June-July 1991.

11. Gensior, Sabine, Maier, Frederike, and Winter, Gabriele, eds., Soziale Lage und Arbeit von Frauen in der DDR, Faderborn: Arbeitskreis Sozialwissenschaftliche Marktforschung, 1990 Google Scholar.

12. Nickel, Hildegard Maria, “Women in the GDR and in the New Federal States: Looking Backwards and Forwards,” German Politics & Society, 1991–1992, 24–5: 34–52 Google Scholar.

13. Musall, Bettina, “‘Viele dachten, die spinnen,’” Der Spiegel (12): 68–84 Google Scholar.

14. Berghahn, Sabine and Fritzsche, Andrea, Frauenrecht in Ost und West Deutschland, Berlin: Basisdruck, 1991 Google Scholar. See also Böttger, Barbara, Das Recht auf Gleichheit und Differenz: Elisabeth Selbert und der Kampf der Frauen um Art. 3 II Grundgesetz, Mûnster: Verlag Westfälisches Dampfboot, 1990 Google Scholar.

15. Raasch, Sibylle, “Gleichstellung per Gesetz?” pp. 154–65Google Scholar in Weg, Marianne and Stein, Otti, eds., MACHT macht Frauen stark: Frauenpolitik für die 90er Jahre, Hamburg: VSA Verlag, 1988 Google Scholar.

16. Krautkrämer-Wagner, Uta, Die Verstaatlichung der Frauenfrage, Hannover: Kleine Verlag, 1989 Google Scholar.

17. Raasch, op. cit., and Krautkrämer-Wagner, op. cit.

18. Schenk, Sabine, “Gleichstellungspolitik und geschlechtsspezifische Arbeitsteilung: Erwerbstätige Frauen in der DDR,” pp. 45–60 Google Scholar in Voth, Helga and Kootz, Johanna, eds., Gleichstellungspolitik in der DDR und der BRD, Humboldt University Berlin: Zentrum interdisciplinäre Frauenforschung Google Scholar. See also Rosenberg, op. cit.

19. Gerhard, op. cit., Hildebrandt, Karin, “Wozu Forschungen über Frauen im Hochschulwesen,” Berlin: Zentralinstitut für Hochschulbildung, 1990, p. 40 Google Scholar. See also Hildebrandt, Karin, “Abwicklung: Konsequenzen für den Berufsverlauf der Wissenschaftlerinnen an den Universitäten und Hochschulen der neuen Bundesländer,” pp. 33–41 Google Scholar in Faber, Christel and Meyer, Traute, eds., Unterm neuen Kleid der Freiheit das Korsett der Einheit, Berlin: Sigma, 1992 Google Scholar.

20. Fremerey, Ulrike and Kupierschmid, Peter, “Materialien zur Frauenpolitik: Frauen in den neuen Bundesländer,” Bonn: Bundesministerium für Frauen und Jugend, 1991 Google Scholar.

21. This is a term specifically coined for those East Germans who converted from Communism to capitalism overnight, based on the name of a bird that can turn its head completely around.

22. Gabriel, Birgit, “Transformation der patriarchalen Wissenschaft,” presentation at the Leipziger Soziologentag, May 24-26, 1991 Google Scholar.

23. See Ferree, Myra Marx, “Equality and Autonomy: Feminist Politics in the U.S. and FRG,” in Katzenstein, and Mueller, , The Women's Movements of the United States and Western Europe, Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1987 Google Scholar, and “Institutionalizing Gender Equality: Feminist Politics and Equality Offices,” German Politics & Society, 1991–1992 (Winter): 53–66 Google Scholar.

24. Kanter, Rosabeth Moss, Men and Women of the Corporation, New York: Basic Books, 1977 Google Scholar.

25. Staines, Graham, Tavris, Carol and Jayaratne, Toby, 1974, “The Queen Bee Syndrome,” Psychology Today 7(January): 55–60 Google Scholar.

26. The three ministries created were the Ministry for Women and Youth, headed by Angela Merkel, The Ministry for Family and Senior Citizens, headed by Hannelore Rönsch, and the Ministry for Health, initially led by Gerda Hasselfeldt. Hasselfeldt resigned in May of 1992, citing frustration with her limited input, and was replaced by a West German male, Horst Seehofer (CSU).

27. For evaluation of critical social science in the GDR see Belwe, Katerina, “Entwicklung der Intelligenz innerhalb der Sozialstruktur der DDR in den Jahren 1978-1989: Eine Literaturanlyse,” 1990: 1 (Jan.). Bonn: Bundesanstalt für gesamtdeutsche Aufgaben Google Scholar. See also Heuer, , Marxismus und Demokratie, Berlin: Staatsverlag der DDR, 1989 Google Scholar, and Bridenthal, Renate, “The Meaning of Unification for German History and Historiography: An Introduction,” Radical History Review, 54 (March 1992): 81–86 CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

28. Dölling, Irene, “Frauenforschung mit Fragezeichen?” pp. 35–55 Google Scholar in Gislinde Schwarz and Christine Zenner, op. cit.

29. Petruschka, Gisela, “Erste Erfahrungen in der Gleichstellungspolitik an der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin,” pp. 148–52Google Scholar in Voth, Helga and Kootz, Johanna, eds., Gleichstellungspolitik in der DDR und der BRD, Berlin: ZiF, 1990 Google Scholar.

30. The term “Altlasten” is used for both the physical pollution of the environment that the GDR left as a legacy and the politically suspect academics who were holding positions in the GDR.

31. A view offered by several participants at the conference, “Universities, Unification and Reform,” held at the Center for European Studies, Harvard University, March 1992. Cf. Possekel, Ralf, “Ostwissenschaft im Taumel,” Berliner Debatte INITIAL, 2, 1992: 91–93 Google Scholar.

32. The C-4 professorships represent the highest rank, which can be seen as falling closer to named chairs or full professorships in U.S. research universities than ordinary full professorships. A C-3 professorship is a rank encompassing lower-status full pro-fessors and higher-level associate professors. What is striking is the contrast with typical U.S. practices in this regard, which would tend to overrepresent such women as token members on many commissions and overload the relatively few women professors available with committee work.

33. Information from Michael Greven, Chair of the Commission for the Evaluation of Social Sciences, Leipzig, March 15, 1992.

34. Kramer, Karen, presentation at “Universities, Unification and Reform” Conference, Harvard Center for European Studies, March 1992 Google Scholar. The explosive increase in enrollments in the FRG (from approximately 800,000 in 1975 to 1.6 million in 1991) has not been matched by any significant increase in C-3 and C-4 professorships (approximately 62,000 in 1975 and 64,500 in 1991). Die Zeit, January 24, 1992: 7 Google Scholar.

35. Summary of various comments made at the conference, “Universities, Unification and Reform,” op. cit.

36. Data from Hildebrandt, Karin, “Wozu Forschungen über Frauen im Hochschulwesen,” Berlin: Zentralinstitut für Hochschulbildung, 1990 Google Scholar. See also data on Leipzig University in Gabriel, Birgit, “Transformation der patriarchalen Wissenschaft,” Leipziger Soziologentag, May 24-26, 1991 Google Scholar, and on the Humboldt University in Petruschka, op. cit.

37. Interview with Gisela Petruschka, January 8, 1991.

38. Information from Friedhelm Neidhardt, Chair of the Personnel Commission in Social Sciences, Humboldt University.

39. Interview with Gisela Petruschka, formerly Affirmative Action Officer of the Humboldt University, February 26, 1993.

40. Landesantidiscriminierungsgesetz, Gesetz- und Verordnungsblatt für Berlin, Senatsverwaltung für Justiz, 47 (3), January 12, 1991.

41. Information from the Senate Administration, Berlin, October, 1991.

42. Birgit Gabriel, op. cit. Note also that 81 % were from West Germany. Of the two women, one was from the FRG.

43. Because the appointments to date have been primarily in the humanities and social sciences, the rest of the 500 planned appointments will be concentrated in the natural sciences and thus even more heavily male, according to Gisela Petruschka, Affirmative Action Officer at the Humboldt University. She anticipates that women will in the end be only 3-4% of all professors, somewhat less than in the FRG. Interview with Petruschka, February 26, 1993.

44. Freitag, “Markl soil der erste sein,” Jan. 8, 1993 Google Scholar.

45. The changes in higher education law made to cover unification allow the individual new Länder to set their own age limits. Berlin made an exception for East Berlin academics allowing appointment up to age 55. Few exceptional cases are expected to fall under this rule.

46. Waltenberg, Christine, “Zur Gleichstellungspolitik an der Akademie der Wissenschaften,” pp. 153–63Google Scholar in Voth and Kootz, op. cit.; Ralf Possekel, “Ostwissenschaft im Taumel,” op. cit.

47. A much discussed—and controversial—example is the case of Heinrich Fink, former Rector of the Humboldt University. See Utopia, 1992 (Jan.) or Maleck, Bernhard, Heinrich Fink: Sich der Verantwortung stellen” 1992, Berlin: Dietz Verlag Google Scholar.

48. Professor Wolf Rosenbaum of the sociology department in Göttingen (FRG), cited in Land, Rainer, “Abwicklung und Neugründung: Gespräche an der Friedrich Schiller Universität Jena,” Berliner Debatte, 1991, p. 12 Google Scholar.

49. Data from Hildebrandt, op. cit.

50. Schlüter, Anne, “Wenn zwei das Gleiche tun, ist das noch lange nicht dasselbe': Discriminierung von Frauen in der Wissenschaft ,” pp. 10–33 Google Scholar, Schluter, Anne and Kuhn, Annette, eds., Lisa Schwarzbuch, Düsseldorf: Schwann Google Scholar. See also Wetterer, Angelika, “Machiavelli mit weiblichem Charme: Über einige Widersprüche in der Situation und im Selbstverständnis von Wissenschaftlerinnen,” Sozialwissenschaften und Berufspraxis, 1986, 9(1): 5–27 Google Scholar.

51. Interview with Klein, Anne, lawyer and former Senator for Women's Affairs in Berlin, “Ich würde mich freuen, wenn eine mal klagte.” Tageszeitung, July 26, 1991 Google Scholar. In fact, one West German woman sociologist threatened to sue and was appeased by a new round of hearings; however, she was still not ranked high despite what are generally seen as strong credentials.