What Merkel, the belated feminist, did for women

But only now, at the end of her 16 years in office, has she declared herself a feminist -- too little too late for some in Germany.

Merkel, who is bowing out of politics after Germany's September 26 election, admitted she had been "shy" about the label but said her thinking on the issue had evolved.Ines Kappert, head of the Gunda Werner Institute for Feminism and Gender Democracy in Berlin, called Merkel's belated realisation "a slap in the face" for women.

Germany's gender pay gap remains among the highest in the European Union and stood at 19 percent in 2019, not least because many German women work part-time.Merkel's conservative CDU-CSU bloc has resisted a long-standing feminist plea to reform Germany's tax system for married couples, which makes it less attractive for the lower-earning spouse, usually the woman, to work full-time.

"Merkel discovered feminism late in her tenure," said Sudha David-Wilp, deputy director of the German Marshall Fund think tank in Berlin. She recently said it was her physics studies that taught the pastor's daughter to stand up for herself in a male-dominated environment, recalling the scramble to snag a table during experiments.

On Merkel's watch, her one-time defence minister Ursula von der Leyen became the first female president of the European Commission.

Singapore Latest News, Singapore Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

Giving birth under the TalibanOne midwife, who wishes to remain anonymous, told the BBC that a male doctor had been beaten up by the Taliban because he attended to a woman alone.
Source: YahooSG - 🏆 3. / 71 Read more »

UK's Princess Beatrice gives birth to baby girl, Queen Elizabeth's 12th great-grandchildAccording to a statement, both mum and daughter are doing well.
Source: ChannelNewsAsia - 🏆 6. / 66 Read more »

Cricket: Security tightened around NZ women's team in England after threatSecurity has been tightened around New Zealand's women's cricket team after a threat was received ahead of a one-day international against England in Leicester on Tuesday.England earlier withdrew their men's and women's teams from next month's tour of Pakistan, three days after New Zealand abandoned their
Source: ChannelNewsAsia - 🏆 6. / 66 Read more »

Afghan women outraged by new Taliban restrictions on workKABUL — Fears were mounting in Afghanistan on Monday (Sept 20) as the Taliban tightened their grip on women's rights, slashing access to work and denying girls the right to secondary school education. This should be a surprise to no-one... Deeply disheartening.
Source: TODAYonline - 🏆 1. / 99 Read more »

Body found matching description of US missing woman Gabby Petito: FBIWASHINGTON — US law enforcement said Sunday (Sept 19) a body found in a US national forest in Wyoming, where a search was underway for Gabrielle
Source: TODAYonline - 🏆 1. / 99 Read more »

Taliban orders women employees in Afghanistan's capital to stay at home, official saysKabul's interim mayor said that women whose jobs cannot be replaced by men are authorised to go to work – for example, those who are attendants in public restrooms.
Source: YahooSG - 🏆 3. / 71 Read more »