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East Germany Women and the Democratic Women's League of Germany
The Constitution guarantees equality of the sexes. Women are
afforded equal rights before the law and "in all spheres of
social, state and personal life." The East German record in the
area of women's rights has been good. Women have been well
represented in the work force, comprising about half of the
economically active population. As of 1984, roughly 80 percent of
women of working age (between eighteen and sixty) were employed.
The state has encouraged women to seek work and pursue careers
and has provided aid to working mothers in the form of day-care
centers and generous maternity benefits
(see The Family
, this
ch.). The state also has made a concerted effort to provide
educational opportunities for women. The number of women having a
university or technical school education has increased over the
years. Of the students enrolled in universities and colleges in
1985, about 50 percent were women, and most of these were
involved in direct study (as opposed to extension and evening
study). This figure represented an increase from 25 percent in
1960 and 35 percent in 1970. Female enrollments in technical
schools also rose. In 1960 women accounted for 29 percent of the
student body, by 1970 their proportion had grown to 49 percent,
and in 1985 they represented about 73 percent of all enrollees.
Special courses were designed for women who already held jobs but
wished to increase their level of skills, and state enterprises
offered programs that provided women leave time and pay up to 80
percent of their wages so they might pursue further education. In
the mid-1980s, women were less well represented in positions of
political power. In 1984 about one-third of the deputies to the
People's Chamber were women. However, in December 1984, only 19
of the 153 SED Central Committee members were women. In early
1987, there were only two women among the twenty-seven full and
candidate members of the Politburo.
The Democratic Women's League of Germany (Demokratischer
Frauenbund Deutschlands--DFD) is the official mass organization
for women. Established in 1947, it originally spearheaded the
campaign for equal rights for women. The SED has used the DFD to
politicize women, to make them aware of their rights and
responsibilities in the construction of a socialist society, and
to encourage them to participate in the productive life of the
country. The DFD had 1.5 million members as of 1985 and operated
through 17,904 local organizations. Membership was ostensibly
open to all women regardless of their social background or
political orientation. As with other mass organizations, however,
leadership positions were filled by SED loyalists, and DFD
activities fell under the strict control and supervision of the
party. The DFD had thirty-four seats in the People's Chamber.
After the late 1960s and 1970s, the influence of the DFD
among women declined. As women became integrated into the work
force, they began participating in the trade unions instead of
the DFD. In this sense the DFD succeeded in its original goals
and hence became outmoded. Consequently the thrust of the
organization changed by the 1980s, and its main concern became
the part-time woman worker and the nonworking woman. Critics
contend that the shift in goal orientation turned the DFD into a
social organization for housewives.
Data as of July 1987
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