Women

In recent decades, the social situation for women in Europe and Germany has improved. Nevertheless, the reality of life for many women is still far from real equality of opportunities. Power, opportunities and resources are still unequally distributed in our society. Women and other marginalised genders are continuously disadvantaged - by habits, entrenched ways of thinking, unwritten rules, legislation and structural conditions.

The "DE Frauen" working group stands for equal opportunities, political participation and representation of all people. We work for a society that allows the free development and recognition of each gender. As a working group of the Equal Rights Team of Volt Germany, we do not only stand up for gender justice - we work against all forms of discrimination of all marginalised groups. Discrimination has many faces, and often many facets of it work together. It affects all people and can only be effectively combated by everyone collaborating.

We promote and support women by providing a safe space for exchange and mutual support. At the same time, we encourage constant dialogue with all people and are always happy to hear new perspectives and points of view. We carry our vision of an equal society into all areas of our party. 

In our work, we advocate for self-realisation and compatibility, sexual self-determination, physical integrity and comprehensive protection against all forms of violence by breaking down gender stereotypes and gender-based discrimination.

Contact

Are women's issues close to your heart? Do you want to actively campaign for the elimination of structural discrimination against women?

Are you interested in exactly how we work or would you like to get into a personal exchange with us? 

Then we would be happy to receive an email from you. Feel free to write to us at frauen@voltdeutschland.org or get in touch with one of our contact persons.

Contact persons

Volt person

Grit Winkler

Our political demands

Women in the world of work

  • We demand that all companies with more than 100 employees must break down and disclose actual pay by gender from 2020.
  • We want to introduce a quota according to which at least 40 per cent of all positions on boards of larger companies as well as listed companies must be held by women.
  • We advocate that all medium to large companies create confidential channels through which inappropriate, discriminatory, harassing or violent behaviour can be reported.

Women and family

  • We want to enable parents with children to reconcile their responsibilities with their professional aspirations. Our measures benefit all parents and couples, whether male, female, homosexual or heterosexual.
  • We advocate that after parental leave it is made easier for both parents to return to their jobs on a temporary part-time basis.

Women in society and politics

  • We want to oblige political parties to have equal numbers of men and women on their electoral lists.
  • We demand that pupils and students be educated in the importance and advantages of a society and economy free of discrimination. In addition, education and training, e.g. of teachers, should prevent children from being unconsciously guided into certain gender roles.
  • We encourage girls and women to take up careers in which women are often underrepresented. Likewise, Volt wants to create incentives for boys and men to take up careers in which men are often underrepresented.

Women and their body

  • We want sex work to be legal, while at the same time strictly regulating the trade and further developing the Prostitution Protection Act passed in 2016 to protect women and men.
  • We demand that violence and human trafficking be decisively combated and that access to legal protection be guaranteed.
  • We advocate for the option of abortion to be accessible in law and in practice for all women in principle and to be available free of charge at least until the end of the first trimester. Health centres and hospitals in all regions should offer appropriate medical procedures without unreasonably long waiting times. Unreasonable burdens on women, such as parental or spousal/partner consent or excessively long, arbitrarily imposed 'cooling-off' periods, should be abolished. For women under the age of 16, parental consent is not required to perform an abortion, but it must be performed in the presence of an adult.
  • We demand that schools and hospitals offer courses and free information on sexual and reproductive health and rights. Hospitals should inform women about their rights and about contraception and protection against sexually transmitted diseases.
  • We want to legalise altruistic (non-commercial) surrogacy arrangements in principle (without taking into account reimbursement of expenses), similar to what is already the case in various European states, such as Greece, Denmark, Ireland and the Netherlands.