"Equal pay for equal work!" Really? Does that sound familiar? Equal treatment is goal number 5 of the UN's 17 global sustainability goals and has always been an integral part of discussions about justice. "Pro Quote Film" presented Claudia Roth with the current facts on the gender equality imbalance at the Berlinale. The traffic light coalition is putting the issue of "gender asterisk" on the domestic political agenda, while foreign policy and the energy transition dominate the news - with images from the Munich Security Conference in the de facto masculine.
Diverse teams function better, deliver more productive results and ensure a healthy atmosphere in the workplace. The Berlinale is setting an example with a high proportion of women on the festival's stages. There is largely no trace of this in German broadcasting networks and media groups. Why is that?
The gender asterisk will probably not help us. Texts lose their impact because they are less readable. According to current grammar, the generic masculine is not wrong. The "stumbling block" in language use is nevertheless important. It is a piece of the puzzle to create a tangible awareness of the everyday reality of the masses. The verbal ticket for an existing shortcoming that is still necessary after more than 200 years of gender struggle. That is a bitter realization.
People in leadership positions are more often in the public eye and are therefore more noticed. If there is a predominance of men and women in top management, the ratio continues in associations, in the composition of panels and talk shows. Role models become clichés, which in turn are taken up in stories or films. At some point these role models become so entrenched that the younger generation also grows into them ( https://www.iwd.de/artikel/berufswahl-typisch-mann-typisch-frau-380726/ ). The fewer men learn women's jobs and vice versa, the more difficult it becomes to find counter-dominant managers. The cliché creates reality, like a self-fulfilling prophecy.
The literal "glass floor" of the executive suite, which prevents women from rising to top management positions, has already been recognized in many cases by companies themselves. Regulations and measures implement and supplement laws. A fixed quota, as has long been implemented for supervisory boards of large corporations, has so far rarely been implemented due to the supposedly insufficient availability of suitable female applicants at board and management level. As long as there is no pressure to fill positions, too little focus is placed on women in overall economic management development.
A gender-equal approach to training makes sense. Parental leave for fathers and adequate childcare are undoubtedly important. The self-image of a managing director and father fulfilling all of their professional duties in the same way as a managing director and mother is a development affecting society as a whole, and we are far from reaching the end of it.
Equal opportunities obviously go beyond gender. These topics are annoying, gender sentences are harder to read, social media shit storms are unpleasant. And that's exactly how it has to be in order to bring about change. The UN's 17 sustainability goals are ambitious. Each of us can make his or her contribution to many of them. That's why our call is: Be a gender star.
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