Their office does not cover a position in its own right, but is an internal body that represents the interests of the female employees vis-à-vis the employer in a similar way to a works council. So although the two are partially released for their tasks and training, their actual positions are not reduced. And yet Weinhold and Lange are now in their second term of office as BfC. But they still don't consider it to be the last: "Among other things, we can see from the salary differences between women and men that the problems still exist. It has to be learned over generations, which is what we are striving for right now. That's why the work of BfCs will definitely be needed for longer. How do you say it again? It's taken 100 years for women to be allowed to vote and work. It will take the next 100 years for them to have equal rights."
The two see reasons for the deep-rooted inequality beyond the professional, particularly in the social sphere. After Saskia Lange completed her training at Fraunhofer ISIT, she went on to study electronics engineering. In the end, she graduated with a bachelor's degree along with two women; in the master's program, she was the only woman among many men. "That's when everyone asked me if that wasn't terrible. Even then I asked myself: what's the problem? Why does this always have to escalate? Today I know that this binge is often just ingrained in people's minds."
And there's another problem that resonates in this context. "Especially in Corona times, I often witnessed women being at home more again and taking over the carework," observed Carin Weinhold, "I tend to get the feeling that things are getting worse again and women are being sent back to their old roles. Because in crisis situations, it is women who take a back seat. That's why we have to recognize: There are other models than woman at the hearth and man at work."