„Der Aufstieg findet nicht statt.“ Frauen und Führungspositionen in der Gewerkschaft Öffentliche Dienste, Transport und Verkehr (ÖTV) in den 1950er und 1960er Jahren

Abstract

The paper exemplifies the career opportunities of women describing the German trade union ÖTV (Public service and transport) in the 1950s und 1960s. It focuses on the biographies of four women who actively participated in the union’s women’s policy and the support of female nurses. The paper shows that the time of reconstructing the union offered a chance for women even without any political experiences to take over functions in the organization. However, if the women aspired to a position outside the area of the union’s women’s policy they met the strong opposition of the male union members. It can be shown that the lack of political experience was regarded highly different between women and men. Whereas men got the support of the organization, in the case of women the reference to missing political experience was used to exclude them from influential positions.