Health Minister Warken assuming leadership role within the Women's Union
CDU: Nina Warken Elected as New Chairwoman of Women's Union
Reutlingen — Federal Minister of Health, Nina Warken, has been elected as the new chairwoman of the CDU's Women's Union. Warken, 46, secured a decisive victory over North Rhine-Westphalia's Minister for Home Affairs, Municipalities, Building and Digitalization, Ina Scharrenbach, 48, in a runoff election at the Women's Union Federal Delegates' Conference in Reutlingen, garnering 62.1 percent of the votes.
In her inaugural speech, Warken emphasized the need for more female perspectives in politics. The election followed criticism from outgoing chairwoman Annette Widmann-Mauz, 58, and Federal Minister for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth, Karin Prien, 59, regarding the lack of women in leadership positions within the CDU.
Widmann-Mauz, who opted not to run for the new Bundestag, stated that while the CDU has made significant progress in achieving actual equality, it continues to fall short in other areas, such as representation in the coalition committee and parliamentary group. The Union currently boasts a 44 percent female representation in the party's presidium, executive board, and federal cabinet, but only 4 out of 20 members of the executive board of the parliamentary group and 4 female working group chairs and spokeswomen out of a total of 23.
Widmann-Mauz described the Women's Union as more than just a political support group and not a gathering of "groupies of male political stars." Meanwhile, Chancellor Friedrich Merz's cabinet comprises ten men and eight women, with key ministries and the coalition committee primarily held by men.
The Women's Union, with approximately 95,000 members, automatically grants the chairwoman a position on the CDU's federal executive board. The broader context of gender equity in political leadership in Germany highlights the CDU's historical influence and the need for continued efforts to improve gender representation in the party's leadership positions.
- Nina Warken, the newly elected chairwoman of the CDU's Women's Union, emphasized the importance of increasing female perspectives in politics during her inaugural speech.
- In her statement, Annette Widmann-Mauz, the outgoing chairwoman of the Women's Union, criticized the CDU for falling short in areas such as representation in the coalition committee and parliamentary group, despite making significant progress in achieving actual equality.
- The need for continued efforts to improve gender representation in political leadership within the CDU is highlighted by the discussion on policy-and-legislation, women's-health, and health-and-wellness, as well as the general-news surrounding the election of Nina Warken as the new chairwoman of the Women's Union.
