Co-leader of Germany's SPD wants four female ministers in new Cabinet
"Our goal must be to create parity in the Cabinet and across politics," said Esken in remarks published on Tuesday, days after the SPD reached a coalition agreement with conservative leader Friedrich Merz's CDU/CSU bloc.
"Women form half of the population," she said. "We want [...] not only half of the cake, but half of the bakery."
Under the terms of the coalition deal, the SPD is set to hold seven of the 16 Cabinet positions, despite winning only 16.4% of the vote in February's parliamentary election.
Asked if she therefore meant that women should fill four of the posts, Esken replied, "If you can count, then yes, that adds up to four."
The 63-year-old has not confirmed whether she is seeking a position in the new government.
The outgoing SPD-led Cabinet under Chancellor Olaf Scholz was originally made up of nine men and eight women, failing to meet Scholz's stated aim of gender parity.
The next administration is set to have an additional ministry, meaning parity would be possible in the Cabinet.
However, the incoming chancellor Merz has not promised to aim for this.
Only 22.1% of lawmakers from Merz's Christian Democrats (CDU) are women, compared to 25% for the Bavaria-only Christian Social Union (CSU) and 41.7% for the SPD.
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