🚨 Women will disappear from the next Bundestag! While national news reports close to equal % of women candidates compared to 2021 https://shorturl.at/KSYvj, the upcoming election on Feb 23 will lead to an even more male-dominated parliament. Here's why the new electoral system is pushing women out—🧵
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(1) Fewer list seats, where women are better represented.
(2) Men dominate the competition for promising list positions.
(3) Women lose their directly won seats more often.
The number of list seats will shrink by ~100. This is critical because women win far more list seats (41% in 2021) than direct seats (26% in 2021). A Bundestag with fewer list seats means fewer women in parliament.
Fewer list seats lead to tougher competition for top spots. Women are systematically pushed out. In the SPD, 58% of list-elected MPs were women in 2021. In 2025, we see only 36% women on list positions that are promising in the light of the new electoral system.
🔻 Left Party: -15 percentage points
🔻 Greens: -11 pp
🔻 CDU: -6 pp
🔻 FDP: -5 pp
🔻 AfD: -3 pp
Under the new system, direct seats are lost if a party wins more districts than their second vote share allows. Women tend to win with narrower margins, making them more vulnerable.