“I am proud to be at the top”
Christiane Benner is the first woman to be part of the IG Metall’s management duo – a minor revolution.
The decision came as a surprise to many. For the first time ever, a woman has been appointed to a leadership position in the IG Metall, Germany’s engineering workers’ union. Christiane Benner was elected as Second Chairperson in October 2015. By tradition the IG Metall, Germany’s largest trade union, represents the interests of employees in the classical “male professions” in the electronics sector and the steel industry, not to forget the information and communications technology sector. Today 18 % of IG Metall members are female.
“I am proud to be the first woman to have made it to the top of the IG Metall,” comments Benner, a 47-year-old sociologist. She has been a member of the union’s national executive since 2011, and most recently was responsible for women, migrants, trainees and students. She has in the past also covered issues relating to digitisation and the recruitment of graduates. Benner heads the IG Metall together with the First Chairperson, Jörg Hofmann. The latter has placed the topics of working hours and mobile work firmly on the agenda. In addition, the union is set to investigate the opportunities afforded by digitised and networked production.
