Wednesday, March 6, 2024, 11:00 a.m
Increased proportion of women in self-governing bodies at replacement funds and DRV Bund since the 2023 social elections
Berlin – Many women are involved in volunteer work. The self-administrative representatives of the social insurance institutions point this out on the occasion of International Women’s Day on March 8th. In the last social election in 2023, the lists up for election further increased the already high proportion of women in the self-governing bodies of the replacement funds (TK, BARMER, DAK-Gesundheit, KKH, hkk and HEK). While the proportion of women among insurance representatives was already over 40 percent in 2017, this now also applies to employers. The German Federal Pension Insurance has also been able to increase the proportion of women.
Compared to the 2017 election, their share on the boards of directors of the funds increased from around 37 percent to the current 44.4 percent. At the pension insurance representative meeting, the proportion of women, which was around 20 percent on the insured and employer side in 2017, rose to over 40 percent each. For the first time, there was a gender quota in social elections, according to which the lists up for election had to have a proportion of women of at least 40 percent.
Doris Barnett, Deputy Federal Election Commissioner for the 2023 social security elections, says: “The gender quota was an important innovation in the last social election, which was made possible by a change in the Bundestag’s law. I am pleased that even more female expertise is now represented in the self-government committees. On Women’s Day, I would like to encourage all women to volunteer.”
Anke Fritz, deputy chairwoman of the board of directors of KKH Kaufmännische Krankenkasse, explains: “As a clinic director, I know the concerns of both patients and women who work in the healthcare system. I can bring these experiences and perspectives into my work on the board of directors. My colleagues in local government and I are committed to addressing the specifically female needs in health care. These can be topics of work organization, women’s health or gender-appropriate studies.”
Dagmar König, member of the board of the German Pension Insurance Association, emphasizes: “Women have a different view of things. In order to get a comprehensive picture and be able to make the right decisions in the social parliaments, we need the perspective of all insured people, women as well as men.
Social self-government and social choice
In Germany, voluntary representatives of the insured make important decisions regarding pensions and health. They are the members of the representative assembly of the statutory pension insurance or the administrative boards of the statutory health insurance. These insured parliaments are elected every six years in social elections.