The latest equality report published by the CDU shows that the party is far from reaching its goal of attracting more women. According to the report, the party currently has 95,505 female members as of October 2025. A year earlier the number had already dropped below 96,000, and in 2022 there were still more than 100,000 women in the CDU. In percentage terms the share of women in the party has risen only marginally-by 0.1 point-to 26.6 %.
The distribution of women varies across the party’s regional associations. Hamburg leads with 35.2 % female representation, while Lower Saxony lags behind at 24.5 %. On the municipal level the situation is even poorer: only 14.8 % of positions in Saxony‑Anhalt are held by women, compared with 34.2 % in Hamburg.
Christina Stumpp, the party’s deputy chief secretary and acting on behalf of chair Friedrich Merz, stressed that equal participation of women and men benefits the CDU by bringing diverse experiences and perspectives. She welcomed the report’s indication of progress at federal and state levels but highlighted the continued need for action in local offices.
Since 2022 the CDU has a gender quota. From 2025 onward, half of all executive positions must be occupied by women in elections at the federal, alliance, state and district levels. The rule applies until 2029 and will be reviewed then. At the upcoming federal party conference, scheduled to begin on Friday in Stuttgart, parity is to be achieved both within the party’s presidium and among the deputies of chair Friedrich Merz.