Effects of equal opportunities agreement assessed

In January 2004, the German government and central business and employers' associations published a first assessment of an agreement they concluded in July 2001 to promote equal opportunities between men and women in the private sector. In the 2001 agreement, the business and employers' associations recommended that their members implement firm-level equal opportunity and family-friendly initiatives. All signatory parties believe that the agreement has had positive effects.

On 29 January 2004, Christel Riemann-Hanewinckel, the Parliamentary Secretary of State at the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (Bundesministerium für Familie, Senioren, Frauen und Jugend, BMFSFJ), and Reinhard Göhner, director general and member of the presidential board of the Confederation of German Employers’ Federations (Bundesvereinigung der Deutschen Arbeitgeberverbände, BDA), presented the first report - known as Assessment 2003 (Bilanz 2003) - assessing the effects of an agreement promoting equal opportunities between men and women in the private sector. The agreement was reached in July 2001 by the federal government and the central business and employers' associations, including BDA, the Confederation of German Industries (Bundesvereinigung der Deutschen Industrie, BDI), the German Association of Chambers of Commerce (Deutscher Industrie- und Handelskammertag, DIHK) and the Central Chamber of Crafts (Zentralverband des Deutschen Handwerks, ZDH) (DE0107231F).

Under the agreement, the business and employers' associations recommended that their member companies take firm-level measures to improve equal opportunities and implement 'family-friendly' initiatives. The conclusion of the agreement meant that planned new legislation on equal opportunities in the private sector (DE0009282F) was shelved by the government.

A group made up of members drawn equally from politics and the central business and employers' associations, headed by the Parliamentary Secretary of State, monitored and examined the first phase of the implementation of the agreement in terms of its effects on the training and career opportunities open to women. The group also assessed the compatibility of having a career and a family for both men and women. Presenting the report’s findings on the overall effects of the agreement, the Secretary of State commented that the 2003 assessment of the agreement 'reveals a clear tendency: politicians and business leaders are promoting and increasing not just equal opportunities between men and women, but also the compatibility of having a career and a family'. She also stressed, however, the need for further effort in this area: 'Responsibility for exhausting the possibilities that already exist falls not least to company managers and works councils.' Overall, the government sees the cooperation with the business and employers' associations in this area as having been constructive and goal-oriented, and is keen to see it continue in the future.

Training and career opportunities for women

According to the report, there is great potential in Germany to employ well-qualified female workers, whose educational and vocational qualifications are often higher than their male colleagues of the same age. However, employment data suggest that this well-qualified 'resource' that has the potential to achieve a great deal is partly untapped. For instance, there are clear gender-specific differences in the choice of careers of young men and women; these differences also extend to wage rates and career opportunities. A comparison with other EU Member States shows that Germany is not amongst the leaders in terms of its female employment rate.

It is, therefore, the goal of the central business and employers' associations and the federal government not only to inform young women about attractive careers with good prospects, but also to motivate them to enter such careers so that they have the best opportunities in their working lives.

Work-life balance

According to a study by the Institute for Employment Research of the Federal Employment Services (Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung der Bundesagentur für Arbeit, IAB), 23.1% of all employees in firms with more than 10 employees work in a company that is explicitly covered by either a firm-level agreement or an industry-wide agreement on equal opportunities and 'family-friendly' policies. A further 11.4% of employees work in firms with a voluntary agreement on these issues. Moreover, many small and medium-sized enterprises pursue women- and family-friendly policies, such as flexibility, without setting them out in an official equal opportunity policy.

The Cologne Institute for Business Research (Institut der deutschen Wirtschaft Köln, IW) introduced, during the period of the assessment of the 2001 agreement, a new observation tool, the 'Family-friendliness monitor', to track the extent to which family-friendly policies in companies have been deepened and widened. The monitor is based on the goals set out in the 2001 agreement between the federal government and the central business and employers' associations. The results of a first survey exercise indicate that more than three-quarters of companies in Germany offer flexible working time arrangements and/or the possibility to work from home. In order to facilitate a decent work-life balance, just under 42% of firms support their employees in their childcare arrangements by offering workers the option of interrupting their work at short notice if necessary. Similarly, more than 23% of firms support their employees in their care of other relatives in such a way. The major motives for these efforts are to increase the satisfaction of employees and to retain experienced and highly-qualified workers. The survey finds that family-friendly policies encourage loyalty, decrease staff turnover and improve productivity.

Evaluation

From the perspective of the of the central business and employers' associations, the voluntary involvement of companies in these areas proves 'that statutory regulations to promote equal opportunities are not necessary'. They note that: 'Assessment 2003 clarifies, moreover, that the promotion of equal opportunities and a better work-life balance are not just tasks for companies, but also ones for society and the state: without a supply of all-day childcare, in particular for the under-threes, that meets demand, company measures will not bear fruit.' The German Confederation of Trade Unions (Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund, DGB) stated that 'we are still miles away from a systematic and sustainable policy of equal opportunity'. From DGB’s perspective, a law ensuring the equal treatment of men and women is still necessary to promote equal opportunities between men and women in the private sector.

Commentary

Successful modern economies need to enable workers to have a good balance between families and careers. If there is such a balance, workers - in particular female workers - will not face the choice between having a career and having children and/or a family. Moreover, investments in education and vocational training will not be lost. Even if further improvements are still desirable, the results to date show that many companies have recognised that women- and family-friendly policies also make sound economic sense. This realisation will become increasingly widespread through the dissemination of information, and, not least, through the market process, as imminent demographic changes will require women to be employed in increasing numbers if the total number of people in employment is to remain constant (DE0310106F). (Lothar Funk, Cologne Institute for Business Research, IW)