Angela Merkel is finally a ‘feminist’

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Good morning, Broadsheet readers! Women are supporting Gavin Newsom in the California recall election, Ola builds a factory just for women workers, and Angela Merkel finally embraces the feminist label. Have a great Tuesday.

– Finally a feminist. When German Chancellor Angela Merkel sat alongside then-IMF chief Christine Lagarde and Ivanka Trump at a Women20 Summit in Berlin in 2017, she was asked if she was a feminist. She gave an awkward answer: “To be honest, the history of feminism is one with which I have common ground but also differences, and I don’t want to embellish myself with a title I don’t have.”

The response from the chancellor, arguably the world’s most powerful woman, was disappointing to women’s rights advocates, but maybe not surprising.

During the majority of her 16-year term that will end after an election this month, the chancellor has downplayed her gender, shying away from her status as a ‘first’ and projecting her effectiveness as a leader with a subtle, if not purposefully bland, style. Her tactic contrasts sharply to the strategy employed by the likes of Hillary Clinton, who more fully embraced the ground-breaking nature of her candidacy. Merkel’s approach won her the chancellorship four times.

But now, as she prepares to leave office—and with reelection notably off the table—Merkel is warming to the label she once side-stepped.

At an event last week with Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Merkel again addressed whether she sees herself as a feminist. “Essentially, it’s about the fact that men and women are equal, in the sense of participation in society and in life in general,” she said. “And in that sense I can say: ‘Yes, I’m a feminist.'”

The chancellor acknowledged that her thinking on the issue had evolved, describing herself as a “bit shier” when she answered the question in 2017. “But it’s more thought-out now,” she said. “And in that sense, I can say that we should all be feminists.”

You may file Merkel’s proclamation under ‘better-late-than-never,’ but women in Germany argue that Merkel’s tenure as chancellor is what really counts when considering her legacy. “She has done a lot to pave the way for others,” Maria Luisa Schill, a resident of the German town of Freiburg, told Reuters. “Now it is completely normal to see female chancellor candidates. And this hasn’t always been the case.”

Claire Zillman
[email protected]
@ clairezillman

The Broadsheet, Coins2Day’s newsletter for and about the world’s most powerful women, is coauthored by Kristen Bellstrom, Emma Hinchliffe, and Claire Zillman. Today’s edition was curated by Emma Hinchliffe.

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