Ein Drittel des Himmels. Die politische Partizipation von Frauen in Deutschlands Parteien

Abstract

Women currently make up 30 percent of German party members . Among new members, this proportion is only slightly higher at one third . Consequently, there are still barriers to women‘s participation in party politics in Germany . This article examines gender-specific differences in the perception of incentives and costs of party membership along the entire membership cycle . The German Party Membership Studies of 1998, 2009 and 2017 serve as the data basis . It is shown that women more often than men cite inner-party conflicts as a reason for not joining a party . They also more frequently expect to have little fun working within a party . If they do join a party, they do so more often because of the expectations of their social environment . They are less likely than men to seek a political career . Accord- ingly, men take on internal party functions more often than women and run for public office more frequently . There is no evidence that internal party quota regulations increase the proportion of women in the membership .