Following the 2001 reform of the Works Constitution Act (/Betriebsverfassungsgesetz/, BetrVG) (*DE0107234F* [1]), the new law stipulated: ‘The gender that is in the minority in the workforce must be represented on the works council at least in proportion to their numerical share in the workforce if the works council is made up of at least three members’ (Section 15, paragraph 2). Since women constitute the minority of the workforce in many companies, this rule should result in a greater representation of women on works councils.[1] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/undefined-working-conditions/works-constitution-act-reform-adopted
In the 2006 rounds of works council elections, an increasing number of young women stood for election. Nevertheless, women remain underrepresented, particularly on the works councils of small and medium-sized enterprises. These findings are based on research from a social research office in Kassel, which was funded by the Hans Böckler Foundation. The qualitative study revealed that the new female candidates often came from administrative office jobs. Moreover, the study’s findings also showed that women in top positions on the works council often introduce a more cooperative way of working.
Background
Following the 2001 reform of the Works Constitution Act (Betriebsverfassungsgesetz, BetrVG) (DE0107234F), the new law stipulated: ‘The gender that is in the minority in the workforce must be represented on the works council at least in proportion to their numerical share in the workforce if the works council is made up of at least three members’ (Section 15, paragraph 2). Since women constitute the minority of the workforce in many companies, this rule should result in a greater representation of women on works councils.
Study findings
Although some progress has been made in relation to the representation of women on works councils compared with 2002, an analysis of the 2006 works council elections reveals that the ‘minimum quota’ provision for the minority sex was still not observed in all companies. Indeed, women remain significantly underrepresented in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) (see Table).
These are the research findings (in German) of the Büro für Sozialforschung in the city of Kassel in the central state of Hessen; the research was funded and published by the Hans Böckler Foundation (Hans-Böckler-Stiftung). The study was based on an analysis of the outcome of 10,247 works council elections in 2006 within the jurisdictions of the United Services Union (Vereinte Dienstleistungsgewerkschaft, ver.di), covering the private services sector, and the German Metalworkers’ Union (Industriegewerkschaft Metall, IG Metall), representing the metal industry, wood manufacturing and the textiles sector.
| Number of employees | Percentage of works councils fulfilling the gender quota in 2006 | Change since 2002 (percentage points) |
|---|---|---|
| 21–50 employees | 58.1 | 3.8 |
| 51–100 employees | 69.4 | 4.2 |
| 101–200 employees | 76.4 | 2.4 |
| 201–400 employees | 84.5 | 5.2 |
| 401–700 employees | 86.3 | 1.7 |
| > 700 employees | 87.3 | 0.9 |
Note: * Analysis of outcomes of works council elections in 2006 in 10,247 companies within the jurisdictions of IG Metall and ver.di
Source: Büro für Sozialforschung, Trendreport Betriebsratswahlen 2006
Low proportion of women chairing works councils
In SMEs with between 20 and 200 employees in the metal industry, wood manufacturing or textiles sector, 14% of works councils elected a woman as chair and in another 18% of cases women became vice-chair of the works council. This proportion is about the same as for the overall total of works councils in these sectors, which – according to the researchers – is remarkable given the general underrepresentation of women in works councils in SMEs.
In addition to their quantitative analysis, the researchers carried out a qualitative study (in German, 616Kb PDF), conducting interviews with 40 works councils of SMEs with between 20 and 200 employees in the German metal and electrical industry and in wood manufacturing. The researchers selected works councils where the proportions of men and women on the works council had significantly changed in the 2006 works council elections or where women entered top positions in the works council. The focus was on SMEs where male manual workers represented the majority of employees.
Increasing number of women standing for election
The study found that an increasing number of women in the SMEs surveyed stood for elections. This impetus for more female candidates was clearly centred on young women who had recently joined the companies. Many of these worked in administrative office jobs in secretarial, accounting, sales or distribution departments.
Moreover, where women became chair of the works council, this also had an effect on the style of work. Women in top positions of works councils are more likely than men to discuss decisions and they never negotiate alone with management. Furthermore, women were found to be more systematic in handling the paper work.
An increased representation of women in works councils also helped to improve the understanding in the works council of the problems experienced by specific groups of employees such as part-time workers or temporary agency workers.
Heiner Dribbusch, Institute of Social and Economic Research, WSI
Το Eurofound συνιστά την παραπομπή σε αυτή τη δημοσίευση με τον ακόλουθο τρόπο.
Eurofound (2007), Women still underrepresented on works councils, article.
