Quo Vadis? Women at East Germany's Universities Ten Years After.(Statistical Data Included)

In my contribution, I revisit the tumultuous events of Fall 1989 and their subsequent impact on universities in the former GDR. In particular, I am concerned with the problematic concept of Abwicklung, as the "integration" of the East German university system into the Western system was termed, and with its implementation: the stifling of academic grass-roots reform initiatives in the East, the dismissal of women who had been stuck in the middle ranks of academe, and the sluggish pace of curricular reform. (IN)

A recent assessment of the situation at East German universities paints a bleak picture. As Dieter Simon remarks, "Contrary to the optimism and the expectations of the early years, reunification brought about critical disruptions in both academic systems. In the East as well as in the West it weakened rather than strengthened their efficiency." He attributes these problems to "wrong decisions" that were made by "the managers of the unification process," to "external conditions that could not be influenced," and to other "processes that developed their own, uncontrollable momentum" ("Wiedervereinigung" 390). At the beginning of the 1990s, author and publicist Dieter E. Zimmer gave a similarly pessimistic and gloomy summary: "During that night in the fall of 1990, as the GDR ceased to exist, the university system came to an end, too" (45). In a similar vein, Wolfgang Schluchter attests that, as a result of the restructuring, "almost overnight whole areas of East Germany's academic system and personnel became westernized and also `masculinized'" (21). I could continue with numerous such statements and observations. The result would be the same, the descriptions and scenarios always similar. What has happened? This paper concerns itself primarily with the personal view and perspective of someone directly involved in the transformations. To me it is important to examine how women fared during this process, what problems they struggled with and still have to face, and to what extent the vaunted "modernization process" has had detrimental effects on women in the universities and other institutions of higher learning (Hochschulen).

In August 1999, while sitting in the Deutsche Bucherei (German Library) in Leipzig and going through documents of the past ten years, I discovered a short article in a local newspaper, reporting that the percentage of employed women in the Free State of Saxony is presently 44.5%, in comparison to West Germany's 42.4%. The percentage of unemployed women had decreased since 1994, from 69.6% to not quite 56% (de Haas 4). I will take these figures--which, despite their upbeat implications, I find still depressing--as a starting point for reconsidering the situation of women in the GDR.

Since the founding of the GDR in 1949, the involvement of women in "social production," i.e., paid employment, was regarded--in keeping with theories of the labor movement as well as the proletarian women's movement--as a key step on the way to equality. This approach resulted in a continuous rise in the number of women in occupations; if we also take into account trainees and students, the number comprised 91.2% in 1989 (Frauenreport 63). It should not be overlooked, however, that the development of this "patriarchal equal rights policy" also resulted in a situation in which, according to the sociologist Hildegard Maria Nickel, "women and men--despite impressive evidence of the seemingly unstoppable rise of women in the GDR--were not treated equally as far as their work life was concerned" (234). A carefully targeted Mutti-Politik ("mommy policy"), supported by social-political measures implemented in 1972, assigned responsibility for the private tasks necessary for reproduction of the family primarily to women. One consequence of this was the social division of labor, which manifested itself in a "natural" multi-dimensional discrimination against GDR women as compared to GDR men (Nickel 237). Nickel reflects on the ambivalence of the situation before 1989 by considering her own biography as well as by examining the processes of transition:

 
   The most positive result of this kind of policy regarding women was the 
   widespread economic independence of the women. What is happening now would 
   have seemed inconceivable then. Of course, women earned on average 30% less 
   than men because they often worked in lower-paid occupations. For this 
   reason their living conditions were less favorable, and this fact had often 
   been covered up. But never did they need to be afraid of losing their home, 
   of not being able to pay for child-care facilities. In this respect one 
   could count on basic needs being provided for. This is a crucial 
   precondition as far as equality is concerned; I would say it is the prime 
   condition. Studies reveal that there are still some differences between 
   East German and West German women's attitudes and ways of acting. Whenever 
   East German women become unemployed, they immediately register with the 
   authorities. Then they make enormous efforts to find another job, despite 
   immense obstacles to success. Thus, even if the new conditions eventually 
   force women into assimilation and compliance, they will continue to resist 
   their situation. There are now a number of representative studies that try 
   to demonstrate that GDR women were in fact quite happy to withdraw to 
   family life. Yet, a closer look reveals that this is not the case: only 3% 
   could see themselves as housewives. There are still fundamental differences 
   (qtd. in Szepansky 97). 

By making these tensions clear, other differences become evident (see Butow and Stecker; Schlegel). In the GDR women had far more opportunities to take up an occupation that required specialized training, and they were increasingly wooed into training for a technical profession. Surveys show, however, that despite all these efforts women still flocked to "typically female" jobs, such as secretary, sales clerk, or teacher (Frauenreport 44). A slightly different picture presents itself if we take female university students into consideration. In 1989, 46% of those studying mathematics and natural sciences and 25.3% of those studying technical subjects were women (Frauenreport 47). This was the result of, on the one hand, deliberate targeting and, on the other, early support of girls still in school. However, an analysis of social discrimination against women in leading positions still yields depressing results. Women had hardly ever stood a real chance of rising to high managerial positions. Usually, they had to remain in middle or lower ranks. The pyramidal structure had thus remained unchanged. Within the academic system almost 50% of the personnel were women. Yet, the proportion of women holding positions as professors, senior lecturers, or managers of larger units never amounted to more than 15%. At Leipzig University in 1989 it was 12.7%. Within the entire higher education sector, women in top positions (vice-chancellor, deputy vice-chancellor, department head) comprised only 3%. Compared to the percentage of young women immatriculating (52.1% in 1986).. a severe disproportion becomes evident (Frauenreport 42).

The reasons for this are manifold. Having successfully completed their university education, women generally could, without greater problems, obtain a doctorate, either through a postgraduate degree, as a university assistant, or through special training for a university lectureship. Yet, as soon as they wished to pursue further qualifications, they encountered obstacles. Specifically designed promotion plans for academic elites (Kaderentwicklungsplane) centered primarily on encouraging aspiring young males to pursue an academic career and preparing them for positions of leadership. Not until the 1980s were specific support measures drawn up that aimed directly at encouraging young women to write their second dissertation, a prerequisite for a professorship or lecturership. In view of these restrictions and the tendency of young academic women to have children at a very early stage in their career, women's career paths were much more complicated than those of their male counterparts.