Germany

BERLIN (AP) — Angela Merkel, Germany’s first female chancellor, has been praised by many for her pragmatic leadership in a turbulent world and celebrated by some as a feminist icon. But a look at her track record over her 16 years at Germany’s helm reveals missed opportunities for fighting gender inequality at home.

Threats against politicians have sharply risen ahead of September's general elections. The leading candidate to replace Angela Merkel has rapidly become the prime target for misogyny, vitriol, and fake news.

Germany’s justice ministry has sparked an argument over gender and language by drafting a bill that uses only feminine endings, giving some the impression that it applies only to women.

Legal texts in Germany usually use the masculine version of words such as “employee” or “landlord” to cover both men and women.

But campaigners have been arguing for years that using this language excludes women or gives the impression they are less important.

Germany is pushing to narrow the gender gap with new targets aimed at increasing the role of women in board rooms and in the country’s largest political party. Chancellor Angela Merkel’s cabinet on Wednesday approved a proposal that would increase the number of companies required to have at least 30% women on their supervisory boards to 600 from 105. (...)

Today, we face the global outbreak of a disease that has the potential to catalyze what the historian Eva Schlotheuber terms a “pandemic of the mind.” As misinformation proliferates and lines between fact and fiction are routinely and nonchalantly crossed, world leaders must, now more than ever, illuminate a thoughtful path forward, one reliant on science and evidence-based reasoning. Indeed, many have. One leader goes further still.

Yes, Angela Merkel has been in charge for 13 years, and Germany was a relatively early pioneer for women's suffrage. But there's still plenty of work to do to increase women’s representation in politics.

At a recent conference of Germany's Christian Democrat (CDU) youth wing, Chancellor Angela Merkel looked out across the group's leadership and had a laconic observation to share: "Very male," she said.