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Women at work

The first picture shows three women in a factory looking at the camera in a friendly manner. The second image is black and white and shows a woman looking at herself in the mirror. The third picture shows a woman walking towards the camera and swinging an item of clothing over her head. © DEFA-Stiftung / Wolfgang Ebert | DEFA-Stiftung / Waltraut_Pathenheimer | Turanskyj & Ahlrichs GbR

For a long time, the image of women in cinema was shaped by traditional role models and was mainly defined in the context of romantic and social relationships. Women in working environments with identifiable professions were rarely shown – an image that corresponded to the social reality in the West. The situation was different in the East. On the occasion of this year's 35th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, the film selection puts perspectives from the GDR in dialog with films from the 2000s to the present day.

For a long time, the image of women in cinema was shaped by traditional role models and was mainly defined in the context of heterosexual romantic and social relationships. Women in working environments with identifiable professions were rarely shown – an image that corresponded to the social reality in the West: In the Federal Republic married women were only allowed to take up work with their husbands' permission until 1958, and as long as 1977 such employment had to be "compatible with her marital and family duties". 

The situation was different in the East: In the GDR, equal access to professional work for men and women was regarded a programmatic component to establish socialism. The inclusion of women in the production process was considered the most fundamental step towards gender equality. Accordingly, DEFA films dealt with the issues of women on the workplace and gender equality from the 1950s onwards already.

The film series Women at Work provides insights into different representations of female roles on the workplace. On the occasion of this year's 35th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, the film selection puts perspectives from the GDR in dialog with films from the 2000s to the present day.

The films

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