CHANCELLOR Angela Merkel has said much more needs to be done to achieve gender equality in Germany.

As Germany marked the 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage, Merkel said in a speech in Berlin that there is a lot still to do to achieve gender equality – notably in the worlds of politics, business, science and culture.

“The goal needs to be equality, equality everywhere,” she said.

“I hope it becomes natural for women and men to split up work, raising the children and doing the household equally... and I hope that’s not going to take another hundred years to get there.”

Merkel, the country’s first female chancellor, highlighted the fact that only 30.9% of politicians in the current Bundestag are female, down from 36.5% in the previous one.

“We’ve achieved a lot, but there’s still much to do and we cannot accept setbacks,” Ms Merkel said.

As for her own role, she acknowledged to roaring applause she had made a contribution: “Nobody laughs anymore if a girl says she wants to become a chancellor.”