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From George Moeritz
Dresden. A female chimney sweep on a playing card - for years, this is what an unwelcome award looked like in Bavaria. The DGB women in southern Germany awarded their negative prize "Schwarze Petra" (Black Petra) when they identified serious breaches of gender equality. A similar award is now planned for Saxony.
The German Trade Union Confederation of Saxony (DGB) awards the Inequality Prize for the first time. However, the Saxon negative prize will not be called Black Petra. That would also be inappropriate: Petra is the name of the Saxon SPD's top candidate for the state elections, Social Affairs Minister Petra Köpping. The Bavarians have also renamed their prize in the meantime. They noted that the Black Peter had been instrumentalized in a very borderline manner throughout its history. Instead, a female referee in Bavaria shows a red card.
The new negative prize in Saxony is intended to "uncover where and who is working particularly hard against equality", said Daniela Kolbe, Deputy Head of the DGB Saxony. She called for suggestions to be submitted. Closing date under this internet link is on August 10.
Daniela Kolbe: East Germany is not a model country
Kolbe said that discrimination, sexism and anti-feminism are still commonplace and are far too often accepted. Candidates" in Saxony could be nominated for the award in the categories of business and politics. In addition to individuals, organizations, clubs, associations and institutions can also be nominated. Entries are subject to data protection and will be published anonymously.
East Germany is "often portrayed as a model country for equality", said Daniela Kolbe. However, this is a deceptive image in view of lower wages for women, more part-time jobs, fewer female managers, sexual assaults and bullying against women. "We want to make this practiced inequality and discrimination visible in order to advocate for more equality," said the trade unionist.
Women underrepresented in management positions in Saxony
According to the Institute for Employment Research, one in three managers in the eastern German states was a woman in 2022. In the old federal states, it was just under one in four. The proportion of women in the second management level in Saxony was 46%, and 35% in the first management level. This means that women are still underrepresented in management positions. Women also receive lower salaries than men in Saxony. However, the gap is not as great as in the West.
The award ceremony for the Inequality Award will take place on Monday, August 26, at the Volkshaus Dresden as part of the Dresden Equality Week, a few days before the state elections on September 1. There will also be a panel discussion with state politicians on the topic of equality policy. The speaker will be Martin Burkert, the national chairman of the railroad and transport union EVG, a former SPD member of the Bundestag.
Incidentally, retail chains have also been among the award winners in Bavaria in recent years. The reason: they had misused International Women's Day for their own advertising purposes and tried to turn the important day of struggle into a second Mother's Day.
