Gender Equality in Germany between Law and Reality Sawsan Chebli Presentation at the International S

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Gender Equality in Germany between Law and
Reality Sawsan Chebli Presentation at the
International Seminar on Methodological aspects
21 23 of January 2005, I H S, Vienna

• EUROPEAN WEEKS
• FOR GENDER EQUALITY - EDUCATION SPORT"

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Content
Introduction
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I. Legal Framework

• Art. 3 Paragraph 2 Basic Law
• Men and women have equal rights. The state
  facilitates the actual implementation of gender
  equality and works actively on the removal of
  existing deficiency.

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Legal Framework Public Service of the
Federation

• Part 1 Women and Work
• The Federal Act on Equal Opportunities between
  Women and Men in the Federal Administration and
  in the Courts of the Federation, December 5, 2001

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Federal Act on Equal Opportunities - Goals

• Discrimination-free access of women to
  interviews and
• selection procedures
• Discrimination-free content of interviews
• Quota, taking in account the individual case, in
  education,
• adjustment, employment, and promotion
• Equality plan that provides that the proportion
  of women remains the same even when jobs are
  cut
• Equality commissioners who have the right to
  object and an
• additional right to take legal action.

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Legal Framework Private Industry

• Agreement between the Federal Government and the
  central associations of German industry to
  promote equal opportunities for women and men in
  the private industry, July 2, 2001

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Agreement on Equal Opportunities in Private
Industry

• Goals
• Entrenching equal opportunities and family
  friendliness as part
• of the corporate philosophy
• Increasing the proportion of women in leadership
  positions
• Preparing offers to win over more young women
  for future-
• orientated and other training
• Improving the reconciliation of family and work
  for mothers and
• fathers
• Formulating and documenting binding goals

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Worker Protection Act, June 24, 1994

• Goal
• Control of all types of work-related issues,
  mainly the protection from sexual harassment at
  the workplace
• Method
• All employers must take the necessary protective
  measures without delay if worker feel that they
  have been sexually harassed. This includes labour
  law and disciplinary consequences against
  offenders.

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Legal Framework

• Part 2 Reconciliation of Family and Work
• Maternity Protection Act
• Goal
• Protection of female employees and their children
  against health risks at work, against dismissal
  and against loss of income.

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Amendment of the Maternity Protection Act, June
16, 2002

• Main Provisions
• Maternity protection period totalling at least
  14 weeks
• Female employees are protected from dismissal
  during pregnancy as well as four
  month after delivery
• Small businesses shall by law receive 100 of
  the health insurance for employee costs in
  case of maternity leave.

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Reform of the Federal Child-Raising Benefit Act,
January 1, 2001

• Parents may take parental leave at the same time
  for three years maximum
• Legal right to work part-time during parental
  leave for both Parents may work up to 30
  hours per week each
• Right to return to the previous working hours
• Possibility of taking a year's parental leave
  between the child's third and eighth
  birthdays

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Maternity and Family Welfare Act, July, 27 1992

• Expansion of this Act on 1 January 1996 and in
  force without restriction since 1 January
  1999. It introduced the
• legal right, to a kindergarten place for all
  children from the age of three years until
  they start school.
• The implementation and financing of child and
  youth welfare legislation is the
  responsibility of the local authorities.

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II. Gender Mainstreaming as a Means for the
Promotion of Gender Equality

• In June 1999 Federal Government adopted a
  resolution to integrate Gender Mainstreaming
  (GM) as a guiding principle into all policy
  areas.
• Adopted on 26 July 2000, section 2 of the Joint
  Rules of Procedure of the Federal Ministries
  requires all departments to observe this
  approach in all political, legislative and
  administrative measures of the Federal
  Government.

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Gender Mainstreaming (GM)

• The Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior
  Citizens, Women and Youth (BMFSFJ) took the lead
  in
• elaborating a catalogue of key criteria which
  will enhance the integration of the gender
  dimension in all government's on- going
  activities and future policy development
• establishing an inter-ministerial working group
  assembling senior officials from all
  ministries
• all 16 Länder have created GM plans

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III. Institutions and Authorities for Promoting
Equal Rights of Women and Men in Germany
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Institutions and Authorities for Gender Equality
in the Federation

• 1. Equality Commissioners
• Legal right to object against rulings and
  measures of their agencies which they consider
  to be counter to equality
• Equality commissioners are involved in the
  procedures for appointments to the bodies
  within their units

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Institutions and Authorities for Gender Equality
in the Federal Länder

• All Länder governments have equal opportunities
  institutions such as ministries and equality
  commissioners
• They develop special
• measures in the fields of schools, education,
  training, working life, vocational
  advancement of women, reconciliation of family
  and work and violence against women.

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Institutions and Authorities for Promoting Gender
Equality in Rural Districts and Municipalities

• Many municipalities have appointed equality
  commissioners
• Equality boards are embedded in the respective
  Land equal opportunities statutes, local
  authority constitutions or municipal
  regulations

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IV. Women in Sport

• Number of women partaking in organized sport has
  been continually rising
• Decision-making bodies largely involve men, both
  in the voluntary and in the professional
  field
• Two women sit in the executive committee of the
  German Sport Federation that incorporates 11
  members
• One woman holds a leadership position within the
  16 Land sport associations.

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Women in Sport Projects

• Name of the Project
• Women at the Top
• Promoters
• Federal Ministry of Family Affairs, Senior
  Citizens, Women and Youth in cooperation with the
  National Olympic Committee

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Women at the Top

• Aims
• Analysing the extent to which women are
  represented in executive sports bodies
• Evaluating the effects and results of schemes on
  the advancement of women
• Analysing the causes of the under-representation
  of women in executive posts

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Women at the Top

• Further Aims of the Project
• Developing and implementing measures to
  encourage women to take up honorary posts
• Creating and implementing concepts of gender
  mainstreaming in sport
• Involving men in leading positions in the
  development of concepts and the
  implementation of measures.

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V. IS LAW REALITY? EQUALITY IN NUMBERS

• Part 1 Women and Work
• Part 2 Reconciliation of Family and Work
• Part 3 Women in Sport

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Childcare Facilities
in
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Women and Men in Bodies of the German Sport
Federation
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Marital Status Dependent on Gender ( of
Men/Women)
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Support of Partner Involvement
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Childcare within the Family
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Field of Responsibility in Executive Committees
Depending on their Gender
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VI. CONCLUSION

• Gender equality has come forth a long way since
  its induction in German Basic Law
• Discrepancies between the written law and
  reality though still continue to exist in
  regards
• to womens occupational status within the
  private economy or public service and women
  in leadership positions
• to wages and salary
• to the possibility for women to combine family
  and work.