A quota for women always amounts to a failure of politics. For me, economics is first and foremost the ability to act freely without state rules. That's why I believe quotas should only be used as a last resort.

I don't agree with a core statement by most feminists, the statement by Simone de Beauvoir: "One is not born a woman, one becomes one." Even as a schoolgirl I wasn't convinced by the claim that gender has nothing to do with biology and is only shaped by one's environment.

The person who sits at his or her desk the longest is not necessarily the best. In fact, he or she might also be the least efficient. It's also often the case that people with family responsibilities are particularly productive at work.

Not careers alone make people happy. A successful professional life and joy in work are certainly a part of it, but I couldn't be happy without a fulfilling private life.

We, as women, often believe that we have to endear ourselves by acting modestly. But that leads personnel directors to think: Anyone who gives themselves away so cheaply cannot be very good. On that point, women need to get much, much more self-confident and tough.

I wanted to get away from having a minister who pretends to be a certain type of role model. I don't want my life to serve as an example for anyone.

I never wanted to express my independence by dressing in a particularly masculine way or appear particularly boyish.