Ende zweier Ungleichheiten? Die Aufstiegschancen von Ostdeutschen und die Notwendigkeit zur Unterscheidung von Eliten- und Führungspositionen

Abstract

This article compares the promotion prospects of East Germans in leadership and elite positions. It starts from the observation that East Germans have lower chances of reaching leadership positions, although these have converged with those of West Germans in younger birth cohorts. Theoretical considerations on the distinction between leadership and elite positions, along with empirical findings based on SOEP data and the Elitenmonitor research project, show that this trend does not extend to elite positions in Germany. Moreover, the aligned promotion prospects in younger cohorts may result not from a cohort effect but rather from a life-cycle effect, because the hierarchy level of the positions held increases as the career progresses. The persistent underrepresentation of East Germans in elite positions is therefore not solely due to personnel transfers after 1990 and will not disappear automatically through generational change, but requires sociopolitical countermeasures.