Review of the national situation for the purpose of the workshop in GERMANY
BREAK GENDER STEREOTYPES, GIVE TALENT A CHANCE
Review of the national situation for the purpose of the workshop in GERMANY
2008 Document produced in the framework of the Contract "Raising the awareness of companies about combating gender stereotypes", commissioned by the European Commission to the International Training Centre of the ILO in partnership with EUROCHAMBRES. The contents of this publication do not necessarily reflect the position or opinion of the European Commission. Neither the Commission nor any person acting on its behalf is responsible for the use that might be made of the information contained in this report
“RAISING THE AWARENESS OF COMPANIES ABOUT COMBATING GENDER STEREOTYPES”
Review of the national situation for the purpose of the workshop in GERMANY
This document is supported by the European Community Programme for Employment and Social Solidarity (2007‐ 2013). This programme was established to financially support the implementation of the objectives of the European Union in the employment and social affairs area, as set out in the Social Agenda, and thereby contribute to the achievement of the Lisbon Strategy goals in these fields. The seven‐year Programme targets all stakeholders who can help shape the development of appropriate and effective employment and social legislation and policies, across the EU‐27, EFTA and EU candidate and pre‐candidate countries. The programme has six general objectives: (1) to improve the knowledge and understanding of the situation prevailing in the Member States (and in other participating countries) through the analysis, evaluation and close monitoring of policies; (2) to support the development of statistical tools and methods and common indicators, where appropriate broken down by gender and age group, in the areas covered by the programme; (3) to support and monitor the implementation of Community law, where applicable, and policy objectives in the Member States, and assess their effectiveness and impact; (4) to promote networking, mutual learning, identification and dissemination of good practices and innovative approaches at EU level; (5) to enhance the awareness of the stakeholders and the general public about the EU's policies and objectives pursued under each of the policy sections; (6) to boost the capacity of key EU networks to promote, support and further develop EU policies and objectives, where applicable. For further information, see: http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/progress/index_fr.html. The information contained in this document does not necessarily reflect the position or opinion of the European Commission. Copyright © European Commission
“RAISING THE AWARENESS OF COMPANIES ABOUT COMBATING GENDER STEREOTYPES”
Review of the national situation for the purpose of the workshop in GERMANY
TABLE OF CONTENTS Foreword ......................................................................................................................................... 2 1. STATISTICS ................................................................................................................................... 3 2. SITUATION AND STEREOTYPES .................................................................................................... 5 2.1. Women in the Labour Market .................................................................................................. 5 2.2. Occupational Segregation ........................................................................................................ 6 2.3. The Role of SMES...................................................................................................................... 9 2.4 Gender Stereotypes................................................................................................................... 9 3. SUCCESS STORIES....................................................................................................................... 11 4. SUPPORT.................................................................................................................................... 14 ACRONYMS .................................................................................................................................... 15
LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Statistical data ....................................................................................................................3 Table 2: Country Segregation Index 2005 ........................................................................................6 Table 3: Concentration of men and women in sectors of activities (NACE two digit) .....................7 Table 4: Occupational patterns of women’s and men’s employment (ISCO three digit) ................8 Table 5: Distribution of managers by sex in EU Member States – 2001 and 2006 (%) ....................9
“RAISING THE AWARENESS OF COMPANIES ABOUT COMBATING GENDER STEREOTYPES”
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Review of the national situation for the purpose of the workshop in GERMANY
FOREWORD Does the European economy manage to make full use of its human capital? This document intends to contribute to this discussion, from the perspective of gender equality. This document has been prepared in the framework of the contract “Raising the awareness of companies about combating gender stereotypes” commissioned by the European Commission, Directorate‐General for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities to the International Training Centre of the ILO in partnership with the association of European Chambers of Commerce and Industry (EUROCHAMBRES). The initiative, which involves Chambers of Commerce and SME organizations in 15 EU Countries 1 , aims to help SMEs discover how overcoming gender stereotypes can have a positive impact on productivity and competitiveness. On this purpose, 15 workshops on “Break Gender Stereotypes, Give Talent a Chance” are organized for business relays and SME managers in the selected countries. The Country Reviews do not have the ambition to give an exhaustive picture of gender issues in the labour markets of the 15 countries. They rather aim to enrich the workshops and the tools presented therein with country‐specific information. They collect up‐to‐date statistical data and qualitative information on the different ways in which women and men enter and progress into employment and occupations in the various countries. In addition, information on existing legislative provisions, public and private initiatives and good practices is provided. Suggestions on the impact of gender stereotypes are also offered, to initiate dialogue and action at enterprise level. The final aim is to offer concrete suggestions on how SMEs in the selected countries can overcome gender stereotypes and tap the business potential of gender equality.
1
Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain
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1. STATISTICS Table 1: Statistical data Germany Demography and Employment 1. Total population 2007 (figure in 1000)
(Figure in %)
2. Life expectancy 2005 (%)
EU27
Men
Women
Total
Men
Women
Total
40,301
42,014
82,315
241,671
253,457
495,128
48.9
51.1
100
48.8
51.2
100
76.2
81.8
79.1
75.4
3. Fertility rates 2005 (%)
81.5
:
b
1.34
1.51
4. Employment rate 2007 (%)
74.7
64
69.4
72.5
58.3
65.4
5. Unemployment Rate2007 (%)
8.5
8.7
8.6
6.5
7.8
7.1
6. Activity rate 2007 (%)
82.2
70.4
76.3
77.6
63.3
70.5
7. Youth unemployment rate 2007 (%)
12.6
11.1
11.9
15.2
15.8
15.5
8. Long term unemployment rate 2007 (%)
4.8
4.7
4.7
5.6
6.6
6.0
9. Part‐time work 2006 (%)
5.4
40.7
21.8
4.4
25.8
14.4
10. Employees 2007q04 (1000)
17,985
16,114
34,099
97,388
86,042
183,430
11. Self‐employment 2007q04 (1000)
1,487
860
2,347
15,491
7,417
22,908
12. Entrepreneurs 2007q04 (1000)
1,445
439
1,884
7,574
2,375
9,949
13. Average hourly pay 2002 (in euro)
16.91
12.58
15.40
13.79
g
14. Gender Pay gap in unadjusted form 2006
c
c
10.40
c
12.56
22
15
15. Participation in decision‐making 2007
National Parliaments (%)
67
33
100
76
24
100
President in largest publicly quoted companies (%)
100
0
100
97
3
100
Member of highest decision‐making body in largest publicly quoted companies (%) GEM Value 2007
89
11
100
90
10
100
GEM Rank 2007
16. Graduations of women and men in tertiary education 2004 ISCED 5 (%)
46.3
18. Children in childcare aged 0‐2 years, 1‐29hrs/30+hrs 2006 (%) 19. Children in childcare aged 3 to mandatory school ages, 1‐29hrs/30+hrs 2006 (%)
9
:
53.7
100
c
40.8
61.0
39.0
20
c
100
1.4 100
c
56.8
c
43.2
c
100
c
0.6 22
c
59.2 c
1.2
(Ratio Women/Men) 17. Single‐headed households, 2005 (%)
:
(Ratio Women/Men) ISCED 6 (%)
0.831
0.8 :
c
14
c
14
11/7
14/12
66/27
44/40
:
NOTES: a ‐ 2004, b ‐ 2005, c – EU25, e ‐ Estimation, g – The Pay Gap is the difference between men's and women's average gross hourly earnings as percentage of men's average gross hourly earnings (for paid employees), p ‐ Provisional, : ‐ no data
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Review of the national situation for the purpose of the workshop in GERMANY Source: European Commission, Indicators for monitoring the Employment Guidelines including indicators for additional employment analysis, 2008 compendium. Except: 1, 10, 11, 12: Eurostat Database 2, 3: Eurostat News Release, “A statistical illustration of the situation of women and men in the EU27”, 32/2007, March 2007 and UNDP, Human Development Report 2007/08, Table 1 13: Eurostat, «Salaires bruts en Europe, Principaux résultats de l’enquête sur la structure des salaires 2002», Statistiques en bref, population et conditions sociales, 12/2005, Communautés européennes, 2005 15: European Commission, DG EMPL, Database on women and men in decision‐making and the Human Development Report 2007/2008 (for the GEM rank and value) 16, 17: European Commission, The life of women and men in Europe – A statistical portrait, Luxembourg, Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, 2008 18, 19 (EU27 data): Commission of the European Communities, Commission staff working document accompanying document to the Report from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions ‐ Implementation of the Barcelona objectives concerning childcare facilities for pre‐school‐age children, Brussels, 2008. {COM (2008) 598}
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2. SITUATION AND STEREOTYPES 2.1. WOMEN IN THE LABOUR MARKET Women in Germany have been historically subjected to the traditional male provider and female housewife model. This has slowly given way to a new model in which women, if they have children, do not completely retreat from the labour market but search for a part‐time job during their active family phase. Despite the gradual adjustment of labour participation of women in Germany, gender employment patterns still differ considerably between women and men. Marriage and birth of children, as well as fulfilling of family care duties, have a big impact on a woman’s experience of employment. In the younger age groups, occupation is similarly low for both genders, as most people tend to still be at school or university. However, in the older age groups, the occupation rate of men is constantly over 75% 2 , a high level that remains unattained by women. The biggest gender discrepancies occur in the 25 to 40 age group, which coincides with the most active family phase 3 . The German rate of women graduated in higher education (53.7%, see Table 1) is one of the lowest in the EU. When choosing the type of education, young women prefer studying languages and pedagogies while young men tend to favour technical subjects such as information technology and engineering 4 . In Germany, part‐time work is female dominated, as indicated in Table 1. In 2007, 40.7% of employed women worked 31 hours or less per week while the male rate for part‐time work is only 5.4%. This gender gap in the labour market with respect to working hours has increased significantly in past years. So‐called “Mini‐Jobs” have also increased in Germany, especially among married women, but the proportion of persons working from home in Germany is still low for both male and female workers.
2 European Commission, DG employment, social affairs and equal opportunities, Indicators for monitoring the employment guidelines including indicators for additional employment analysis, 2008 compendium, pp.21 3 Le Feuvre N., Andriocci M., “Comparative Data Report 3: Employment Opportunities for Women in Europe”, April 2003. For the EU funded project “Employment and Women’s Studies: the Impact of Women’s Studies Training on Women’s Employment in Europe’ 4 European Commission, EUR22049 ‐ She Figures 2006 ‐ Women and Science, Statistics and Indicators, Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, Luxembourg, 2006
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2.2. OCCUPATIONAL SEGREGATION Occupational gender segregation refers to differences between men and women in employment occupations. Despite the reduction of the gender employment gap in most EU countries in recent years, employment in the EU remains highly segregated. Women are over‐represented in some occupations and economic sectors, such as services and care professions, and under‐represented in others, such as scientists and engineers. As a consequence of segregated labour markets there is an under‐representation of women in sectors crucial for economic development. The German labour market is marked by gender segregation, just like in the rest of the EU. Germany’s index of gender segregation is 18.2 in economic sectors and 26.5 in occupations, in both cases above the EU average. These indexes measure gender segregation in the labour market; the higher the value of both indexes, the higher the segregation biased against women. However, as with all indicators, the index should be interpreted within a specific context as well as its individual components and care should be taken in cross‐country comparisons and EU averages. Table 2: Country Segregation Index 20055 Germany EU27
Gender segregation in occupations 26.5 24.9
Gender segregation in economic sectors 18.2 17.8
Source: European Commission, Indicators for monitoring the Employment Guidelines including indicators for additional employment analysis 2008 compendium, pp. 52‐53.
The concentration of men and women in the top six sectors of activity in Germany is four percentage points higher than in the EU and is detailed in the table below. Women are highly concentrated in health and social work, retail trade, education, business activities and public administration. In 2005, women made up almost 67.9% of the workers employed in education, 76.8% of those in health and social work and 66.4% of the total employment in retailing. Male employment is less concentrated in sectors of activities. Men work predominantly in construction, public administration, business activities, retail trade, health & social work and machinery. Most women in Germany, 8 out of 10, work in the tertiary sector, while men dominate the labour market in the primary and secondary sectors 6 .
5
The concentration of men and women in different occupations and economic sectors is measured with an occupational segregation index. Gender segregation in occupations is calculated as the average national share of employment for women and men applied to each occupation; differences are added up to produce the total amount of gender imbalance expressed as a proportion of total employment. Gender segregation in economic sectors is calculated as the average national share of employment for women and men applied to each sector; differences are added up to produce the total amount of gender imbalance expressed as a proportion of total employment. The higher the value of both indexes, the higher the segregation biased against women. 6 Eurostat, “The concentration of men and women in sectors of activity”, Statistics in Focus, Population and Social Conditions, 53/2007, European Communities, 2007
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Review of the national situation for the purpose of the workshop in GERMANY Table 3: Concentration of men and women in sectors of activities (NACE two digit) 7 % of women employed
DE
EU25
% of men employed
DE
EU25
Health & Social work
18.5
17.2
Construction
10.6
13.0
Retail trade
12.9
12.5
Public administration
7.8
7.2
Education
8.6
11.4
Business activities
5.9
6.1
Business activities
8.2
7.3
Retail trade
5.3
6.3
Public administration
7.7
7.3
Health & Social work
4.6
4.0
Hotels & restaurants
4.6
5.1
Machinery
4.5
2.7
Other service activities
3.8
2.6
Metal products
4.1
3.1
Manufacture food & beverages
2.8
2.2
Wholesale trade
3.9
4.1
Wholesale trade
2.6
2.6
Vehicle sale & repair
3.5
3.2
Financial intermediation
2.5
2.2
Education
3.3
3.8
Construction
1.9
1.5
Hotels & restaurants
2.8
3.4
Cultural & sporting activities
1.8
2.1
Agriculture
2.6
5.2
Agriculture
1.6
3.8
Land transport
2.4
4.2
Private households
1.0
2.3
Manufacture food & beverages
2.2
2.5
Top 6
60.5
51.8
Top 6
38.7
41.9
Note: Persons aged 15 years and over. No distinction is made between private and public sectors. The top six are according to the EU average which may not coincide with the top six in each country. In the adaptation we have made we have ordered the sectors according to the country importance, but some important sectors might not appear. Source: Adapted from “The concentration of women and men in Sectors of Activity”, Statistics in Focus publication (Population and Social Conditions, 53/2007 ‐ NACE 2 digit), and for a comparison with EU aggregated data see “European Business: Facts and figures 2008”, IBSN 978‐92‐ 79‐07024‐2 available from the Eurostat web page.
Regarding the occupational patterns of male and female employment in Germany, we can see that just as in the rest of the EU, women tend to concentrate in fewer occupations than men and are concentrated in lower occupational groups than men. Women make up more than half of employed women in occupational groups such as office jobs and commercial employees, employment in paramedical health care (nurses, medical secretary), salespersons, social occupations and cleaning and sanitation jobs. Despite the current high level of education of women in Germany, they occupy lower and less decision‐making positions than men. Pay tends to be lower in typical female jobs than in typical male jobs, especially within the service sector. The following table shows how women and men concentrate in different occupations.
7 NACE is an international classification of economic activities. The digits indicate the level of disaggregation: the higher the number of digits the more level of disaggregation.
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Review of the national situation for the purpose of the workshop in GERMANY Table 4: Occupational patterns of women’s and men’s employment (ISCO three digit) 8 % of women employed
DE
EU25
Other office clerks
8.7
5.2
Shop salespersons & demonstrators
7.8
Domestic & related helpers, cleaners & launderers
% of men employed
DE
EU25
Building finishers & related trades workers
5.2
4.0
8.0
Architects, engineers & related professionals
4.9
3.1
6.2
7.6
Physical & engineering science technicians
4.6
3.6
Administrative associate professionals
6.0
4.4
Machinery mechanics & fitters professionals
4.6
3.5
Personal care & related workers
4.9
6.6
Motor vehicle drivers
4.5
5.2
Housekeeping & restaurant services workers
4.6
3.9
Finance &sales associate professionals
3.4
3.3
Nursing & midwifery associate professionals
4.1
2.6
Building frame & related trades workers
2.5
4.7
Finance &sales associate professionals
3.7
2.9
Managers of small enterprises
2.2
4.4
Secretaries & keyboard‐operating clerks
2.6
3.7
Shop salespersons & demonstrators
1.6
2.6
1.3
2.6
27.2
25.5
Managers of small enterprises
1.3
2.9
Production managers
&
operations
Top 6 in each country
38.1
35.6
Top 6 in each country
department
Note: The top six occupations are listed according to the EU average, and may not coincide with the top six in each country. In the adaptation the occupations are ordered according to the country importance, but some important occupations might not appear. Source: Adapted from “The concentration of women and men in Sectors of Activity”, Statistics in Focus, Population and Social Conditions 53/2007.
The pay gap between men and women in Germany is significantly higher than the European average. In Germany, a man’s average gross monthly income is at 3,182 Euros, while a woman’s stands at 2,539 Euros 9 . Reasons for the inequality in payment are attributed to structural and cultural factors that amplify one another. Enduring gender roles lead to women interrupting their career more often than men due to family reasons. Differences in duration and frequency of employment interruptions due to family commitments are one of the main reasons of inequality of payment of women and men with the same qualifications and working hours. The labour market in Germany remains highly gender segregated and most women work in the service sector and occupy lower positions than men. The following table shows how men dominate managerial positions in the private sector in Germany. Despite high levels of female education, which should have an impact in the participation of women in higher paid employment, women continue to be underrepresented in decision‐making positions. Men make up 72.6% of all managers in the private sector and women the remaining 27.4%. The situation in the public sector is different, but women’s participation in decision‐ making is still far from equal to men’s. Social roles of women as housewives and carers also have an impact in their careers, as a many of them decide to work part time, thus losing opportunities for promotion and career development. 8
ISCO is an international classification of occupations. The digits also indicate the level of disaggregation: the higher the number of digits the more level of disaggregation.
9
EIROnline (European Industrial relations observatory on‐line), “Narrowing of Gender Pay Gap”, 15 May 2006
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Table 5: Distribution of managers by sex in EU Member States – 2001 and 2006 (%)
Women
Germany EU27
Men
Women
2001 27.0 30.1
Men 2006
73.0 69.9
27.4 32.6
72.6 67.4
NOTE: EU aggregate for 2001 is the value for EU‐25 and not EU‐27. Source: Adapted from the Report on equality between women and men, pp.32. (European Commission, 2008. ISCO 12 and 13).
2.3. THE ROLE OF SME S In Germany, 99.6% of all enterprises are SMEs. Around 3.3 million SMEs provide work to the two‐thirds of employees in Germany 10 . However, the importance and proportion of SMEs varies significantly between different sectors of the economy. SMEs are especially important in the construction and hotel and restaurant industries, where they account for 80% of the turnover and employ 90% of the total industry workers 11 . SMEs also play a key role in apprenticeship, training 8 out of 10 apprentices. With regard to investment and turnover, SMEs achieve more than half of the national economic benefit. One special characteristic of German SMEs is that 95% are family‐run 12 . These enterprises are strongly attached to their location and tend to operate regionally and locally. SMEs are a strong driving force of employment, primarily in the service sector. Hotels and restaurants and construction, as well as transportation and communication, show the highest growth rates in employment in SMEs. According to the Enterprise Observatory Survey, the most important constraints reported by German SMEs were: problems with purchasing power of customers, problems with administrative regulations and expensive labour. Finally, most SMEs in Germany disagree that their freedom to employ workers from other Member States provides important opportunities for them. However, 31% of the managers of SMEs in Germany think that the Euro is very important in facilitating trade within the EU 13 . 2.4 GENDER STEREOTYPES Gender stereotypes are simplified opinions concerning women and men, which are commonly and often unconsciously accepted in a given society. These social stereotypes about women and men have nothing to do with specific persons. Unfortunately, these metaphors are often confused with real life situations or with real persons. As societies change, so do stereotypes. For example the idea that women are not fit to study in universities has been overcome almost completely in modern western societies and other societies, but stereotypes still exist about the type and/or level of studies that women and men are best fit to take up. Women tend to work in jobs that involve caring, nurturing and providing services for people while men monopolise senior managerial positions and manual jobs which involve using machinery or production processes regarded as physically onerous. Women may be related with attributes as empathy, communal
“OECD Small and Medium Enterprises Outlook”, Enterprise, Industry and Services, OECD outlooks, OECD, 2000 Edition Federal Statistical Office Germany – Destatis, “Small and Medium‐sized enterprises in Germany”, Enterprises and Local Units, Statistisches Bundesamt, Wiesbaden ,14 August 2008 12 Thomas Straubhaar, Facts about Germany, Chapter 6, “The Economy – Germany as an economic hub”, Germany, 2008 13 DG Enterprise and Industry: Observatory of European SMEs, Analytical report 2007 10 11
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and care; men tend to be associated with traits such as power, dominance, initiative, self‐confidence and success. All these associations imply in stereotypes, for example, that men are the better bosses whilst women are not capable of leading. To put it in another way, the discrimination of women could be more related to the professional work‐life sphere while the discrimination of men could be more related to the private sphere. Modern research on work‐life balance indicates that multiple social roles without stereotypes provide a better way of life for both women and men. A widespread gender stereotype is related to the biological possibility of women to have children. This fact is implied systematically for every woman, whether she wants to have children or not. Many women who have found a way to relieve pressures at home by sharing childcare with their husbands, other family members or paid workers do not enjoy full workplace benefits of having done so. Decision makers often assume that mothers have domestic responsibilities that make it inappropriate to promote them up to demanding positions. But it is not only motherhood that proves to be a major obstacle to achieve professional job career, childless female workers show no better performance at reaching a higher employment positions. In recent years there have been a series of social changes that have had an impact on family structures, but have not been reflected in the way work is organised, nor in the way tax‐benefits systems are designed. Some of these changes may have contributed to increasing the number of mono‐parental female households, to the need for two incomes to secure the economical basis of the household and to an increased responsibility of families of dependent older persons.
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3. SUCCESS STORIES A number of EU funded initiatives to promote gender equality in the workplace have taken place in Germany in recent years. Many of these initiatives are EQUAL projects, part of the EU strategy for more and better jobs. Funded by the European Social Fund, these initiatives bring fresh ideas to the European Employment Strategy and the Social inclusion process. Their mission is to promote a better model for working life by fighting discrimination and exclusion on the basis of gender, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation. Gender equality research projects have also been financed under EU Research Framework Programmes. Equal‐IT‐y in the Information Society This project 14 consists of regional development initiatives for equal opportunities in the information technology society within the framework of EQUAL projects. The project organisation and execution were carried out by Zentrum für Weiterbildung GmbH in Frankfurt. Its main objective is to facilitate access to activity fields in the area of information and communication technologies for girls and women, strengthening their media skills and increasing the female occupation rate in information and communication technologies, training and job relationships in the Rhine‐Main area. Gender Mainstreaming in the information technology society This EQUAL project 15 took place between 2001 and 2004 and was executed by the Verein zur Förderung von Frauen in der Informationsgesellschaft (Women in decision‐making). It focused on promoting new ICT and media jobs for women and girls, improvement and continuance of women and girls in technical jobs, sciences and technology, and use of IT in qualifying for other future industries such as eco‐technologies and handcrafts. UPDATE UPDATE is part of the 6th Research Framework Programme (2002‐2006). UPDATE, which stands for Understanding and Providing a Developmental Approach to Technology Education 16 , is a project executed by the University of Dortmund in the area of Science Education and Careers. It examines why girls drop out of education in sciences at different stages of the education system. Evolving from these cognitions and experiences, new pedagogic instruments for further development of girls’ science skills and differentiation in career choice have been developed. In addition to these EU funded initiatives, the Federal government, in cooperation with the private sector and some social institutions, have also developed actions aimed at reducing gender segregation in the workforce in Germany. These actions include:
14 15 16
More information at: http://www.equal‐it‐y.com/start.php More information at: http://www.gendermainstreaming‐it.de/ More information at: http://update.jyu.fi/index.php/Main_Page
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Girls Day and New Ways for Boys: This initiative consists of a series of campaigns carried out by the Federal Government in close collaboration with the private sector. The Girls Day is national campaign day to bring jobs closer to girls that have to do with technology and are generally considered unlikely for girls. New Ways for Boys is a pilot project that intents to widen the career choice spectrum of boys and promote their social skills. Business comprehensive Mentoring (Cross‐Mentoring) This initiative was developed with the cooperation of social partners at individual level in enterprises. Qualified female employees are promoted in their vocational development to increase the rate of women in decision‐making on a long‐term basis. The programme was initiated by the network Forum Women in the Economy and has been renewed every year since 1998. Companies participating in the Cross‐Mentoring initiative include Deutsche Bank, Commerzbank, Daimler Chrysler, Deutsche Telekom, Procter & Gambel, Merck, Fraprot and Bosch. Finally, there are also examples of good practices and success stories in SMEs in Germany, including: Comet Computer Comet Computer 17 is based in Munich and is the market leader in Germany for technical documentation. Its strength is to optimize time‐to‐market for even the most challenging timeframes. This company has family‐friendly working conditions such as virtual workplaces and teleworking, flexible working arrangements and part‐time project management. It has received awards for its long‐term promotion of women in the workplace, by the Bavarian State Minister of Employment and Social Order, Family and Women and the Total E‐Quality rating for corporate management aimed at promoting equal opportunities. ConSol Software GmbH ConSol Software GmbH 18 is an established IT consulting and software company based in Munich, Germany. Founded in 1984 and currently employing over 160 people, ConSol is specialized in development, integration and operation of complex IT systems. The company also offers its own line of products for helpdesk, customer complaint, lead management and other applications. Its flexible, family‐orientated work procedures gave ConSol a 2nd place in the 0‐500 Employees category of the Best Workplaces in Europe in 2008. Bau‐Fritz GmbH & Co.KG Bau‐Fritz 19 constructs timber houses in Erkheim, Germany and employs 250 people. It was founded in 1896 and since then it has implemented a series of family‐friendly measures including job sharing, flexible working schedules and childcare. In 2007 it won the Family‐friendly enterprise Award given by the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth, in the category of medium enterprise. 17
More information available at www.comet.de More information at www.consol.de 19 More information at http://www.baufritz.co.uk/newsletters/veuve_story.html 18
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Promeos Promeos is a company specialized in developing and producing special burners, such as oil burners. It employs 30 persons and is based in Erlangen, Germany. Measures to promote gender equality within the company include a 50 Euros monthly contribution for children. In 2007, Promeos won the Family‐friendly enterprise Award 20 given by the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth in the category of small enterprise.
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More information at http://www.promeos.com/cms/front_content.php?idart=384
“RAISING THE AWARENESS OF COMPANIES ABOUT COMBATING GENDER STEREOTYPES
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Review of the national situation for the purpose of the workshop in GERMANY
4. SUPPORT Following the guidelines of the Roadmap for Gender Equality, adopted by the EC in March 2006, a series of measures have been taken in Germany to improve gender equality. The equal opportunities in professional life measures include goals to achieve the equal participation of women and men on the labour market, the same career opportunities for women and men, mothers and fathers; the same salary for equivalent work done; and an equal access to management positions in the economy, public administration, science and research. To achieve these goals there are a series of actions including: •
An action programme of the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth called Perspective Re‐entry supported by the European Social Fond (ESF);
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Promotion of the National Agency for Women Start‐ups Activities and Services to increase the number of businesses started by women;
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An agreement between the Federal Government and head organisations of the German economy to promote equal opportunities for women and men in the private sector. This is a voluntary agreement to improve not only training perspectives and professional opportunities for women but also the compatibility of work and family life for mothers and father;
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Equality in terms of salaries, especially in Germany, including measures to improve overall opportunities for women in the labour market and change of gender‐specific concentration in training and jobs, as well as a stronger claim of the parent time by fathers;
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Women in manager positions, further development of childcare, better tax deductibility of childcare costs, business programmes “Success Factor Family and Local Alliances for the Family”;
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Campaigns to break open the gender‐specific narrow spectrum when it comes to career choice like the national Girls Day or New Ways for Boys.
To promote an equal participation of men and women in professional and family life the following actions are being developed: •
Improving the availability of childcare: quantitative and qualitative improvement of day care for under three year olds, further development of day care as equal alternative, strengthening of initiatives supporting childcare in companies as well as the development of all‐day schools.
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Company programme “Success factor family. Businesses win”. This programme intends to make family‐friendliness a management topic and a trademark of the German economy. Managers are offered a whole range of practical and economically tested concepts and building blocks on how and at which cost they can create a more family‐friendly business.
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The German Part‐Time and Limitations Act was introduced in 2001. This act mainly aims at facilitating the compatibility of family and job – especially for men.
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Introduction of the federal Elterngeld (parents’ money) and parent time on the 1st January 2007. The Elterngeld provide financial support for a family after the child’s birth.
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Review of the national situation for the purpose of the workshop in GERMANY
ACRONYMS DE EC
Germany European Commission
EU
European Union
EU25
The 25 Member Countries of the European Union (from May 2004 to December 2006)
EU27
The 27 Member Countries of the European Union (as from January 2007)
GDP
Gross Domestic Product
GEM
Gender Empowerment Measure
GNP
Gross National Product
ISCED
International Standard Classification of Education
ISCO
International Standard Classification of Occupations
NACE
Classification of Economic Activities in the European Community
NGO
Non‐governmental Organization
SMEs
Small and Medium Enterprises
UNDP
United Nations Development Program
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