A recent study published on September 20 reveals that individuals from Eastern Germany remain underrepresented in leadership positions throughout Germany, DW reports.
The study, known as the Elite Monitor report and conducted collaboratively by researchers from the Universities of Jena, Leipzig, and Görlitz/Zittau, indicates that less than one in eight leaders were born in the former German Democratic Republic (GDR) territory. This figure falls short of the proportion of East Germans in the general population, estimated at approximately one in five. While there has been some improvement since 2018, the study does not identify a clear long-term trend in rectifying this imbalance.
The research examined a sample of over 3,000 leadership positions deemed elite across various sectors of German society, encompassing politics, public administration, business, culture, and more. The study underscores that top leadership roles are predominantly occupied by individuals from West Germany.
The disparities among different sectors vary significantly, with the military, judiciary, and business sectors having the lowest representation of individuals from former socialist East Germany, accounting for less than 5% of high-level positions. Only in the realm of politics, particularly at the state level, did the study find a more equitable representation of East Germans. At the federal level, a considerably smaller percentage (13%) of leadership positions are held by East Germans.
The study attributes these inequalities to the lasting impacts of the GDR system, the transition to a unified Germany, and East Germany's accession to the Federal Republic. Following reunification in 1990, leaders in the East often did not meet the legal criteria for high-level positions, which were primarily established in the West. Concurrently, the East's economy faltered while Western businesses expanded eastward during the so-called "reunification boom." The expectations of improved prosperity in the East, epitomized by former Chancellor Helmut Kohl's vision of "blooming landscapes," were often exaggerated, leaving many disillusioned.
Carsten Schneider, the German government minister responsible for addressing inequalities between the former East and West Germany, presented the study. He emphasized the need for more East German leaders to strengthen democracy and indicated that the government was taking steps to improve their representation. In January, the government unveiled a plan to increase the presence of East Germans in federal agencies, though it stopped short of implementing mandatory quotas.
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