Marlis Tepe has been president of Gewerkschaft Erziehung und Wissenschaft (GEW) and its 280.000 members since 2013. Before that she worked as a primary and secondary school teacher in the Federal State of Schleswig-Holstein. From 1995 through 2013 she was voluntary member of the state association’s GEW executive board and from 2006 through 2013 chairperson of the main staff council in Schleswig-Holstein. She is committed to inclusive teaching and practised it since 1989. For more than 30 years she represented the GEW branch of Schleswig-Holstein in the GEW National Women’s Committee.

From the beginning of her professional career she joined the GEW to exchange about good teaching and was committed to fight for better working conditions, because quality education and good working conditions are two sides of the same coin. Her experience that poverty, educationally disadvantage, migrant background or gender complicate the access to education and participation in society are the driving factor for Marlis Tepe’s commitment to trade union work.” ‘Equal pay for work of equal value’: this old union demand is yet to be implemented.”