topics
tools
Expatica countries
Index Last Var.(%)
BEL 20 2119.44 0.28
DAX 6339.94 0.38
IBEX 30 6543 0.13
CAC 40 3047.94 0.32
FTSE 100 5351.53 0.03
AEX 292.76 0.23
DJIA 12454.83 -0.60
Nasdaq 2837.53 -0.07
FTSE MIB 13154.8 0.36
TSX Composite 11576.47 0.09
ASX 4106.9 0.63
Hang seng 18720.5 0.04
Straits Times 2771.73 -0.04
ISEQ 20 500.94 1.55
You are here: Home News German News German women march for equal pay

German News

archive
Enlarge font Decrease font Text size


20/03/2009German women march for equal pay

On average, women in Germany earn nearly a quarter less than men, with several factors making it hard for women to bridge the gap.

Berlin -- Women's groups across Germany are preparing protests on Friday to highlight the yawning pay gap between the sexes, one of the worst in Europe.

The date, March 20, has not been chosen by chance.

According to the protest organizers, this is the date up to which German women on average had to work this year -- on top of last year's salary -- to earn as much as their male counterparts did in 2008.

On average, women in Germany earn nearly a quarter less than men, compared to an average of 17 percent in the rest of Europe, with several factors specific to Germany making it hard for women to bridge the gap.

"The tax system in Germany encourages women to take a part-time job when their husband earns more than them," Astrid Ziegler, a researcher at the WSI in Düsseldorf, told AFP.

In addition, a scarcity of places at German crèches, as well as the fact that schools are not open all day, makes it difficult to combine a job with family life, she added.

The situation is very different on the two sides of the former Berlin Wall.

The latest official statistics -- from 2006 -- showed a salary gap of 25 percent in the former West Germany, compared to only six percent in the former communist East Germany (GDR).

Until the country reunified in 1990, "all the women in the former GDR worked, there was a system of crèches and it was considered normal that they earned the same amount as men," Dagmar Bischof, president of the Business and Professional Women (BPW) network said.

When the Berlin Wall fell, however, "it was unfortunately not the East German system that was adopted in the West, but the reverse," she added.

In addition, women who choose to work in Germany rather than tend to their children are often seen as bad mothers, she said.

"The mentality has to change."

Although the government -- disturbed by the country's extremely low birth rate -- has tried to improve conditions for working mums, Ziegler said: "The politicians could do more. And there is no global strategy."

There is "segregation on the job market," she added, with over a third of women working part-time.

Only two women serve on the management boards of Germany's top 30 listed companies, and female executives are less well paid than the men in the boardroom, she said.

This makes the "Equal Pay Day" protests all the more important, she said. "It draws attention to the problem."

More than 180 separate events were planned across Germany Friday and the initiative is supported by the families minister, the main employers' federation and women's groups.

Austria, Belgium and Switzerland have also adopted the idea -- first conceived in the US in the 1990s -- and Poland, France and Italy are set to follow suit, Bischof said.

Laure Fillon/AFP/Expatica


0 reactions to this article

Be the first person to add a comment

General rating: Not rated yet

Rate article:    Add my rating



0 reactions to this article

Be the first person to add a comment
Discussion Forums

Legal Problems in Germany

Visa employment help

Australians in Germany

BUY FAKE PASSPORT, DRIVING LICENSE,ID CARD

Irish in Germany

BUY FAKE PASSPORT, DRIVING LICENSE,ID CARD

Canadian in Germany

BUY FAKE PASSPORT, DRIVING LICENSE,ID CARD

Discuss German Culture

BUY FAKE PASSPORT, DRIVING LICENSE,ID CARD

participate in the forums

Inside Expatica
The ABCs of the German school system

The ABCs of the German school system

What you need to know about German schools and daycare.

German immigration and residency regulations

German immigration and residency regulations

Want to move to Germany but haven’t figured out the details? Check out Expatica’s overview of the German permit system.

Driving in Berlin: Rules, habits and fines

Driving in Berlin: Rules, habits and fines

In part one of our two part series, we cover the driving culture in Berlin, where to park and buy gas and, most importantly, the laws.

Looking for work in Germany: The in depth version

Looking for work in Germany: The in depth version

Our comprehensive guide includes information on how to find work, recruitment agencies, employment contracts and labour law.