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Few German Mothers Go Back To Work Full Time. These Are The Challenges They Face

German women have achieved top political positions, but in the business world, progress has lagged. Until 1977, married women had to receive their husbands' permission to work outside the home.
Ursula von der Leyen, then Germany's defense minister, reads in 2014 with 1st Lt. Patrick Schumitz and his son, Oskar, during a nursery opening at the University of the Federal Armed Forces, Munich. During a previous stint running Germany's family ministry, von der Leyen, a mother of seven, instituted new child care and parental leave policies.

Germany's government has been headed by a woman, Chancellor Angela Merkel, for 14 years. Another German woman, Ursula von der Leyen, recently was chosen to lead the European Commission, the first woman to hold the job. But there is a gap when it comes to women in powerful positions in the German workplace.

German women say they are excluded from senior management roles in the private sector. And a that even after major

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