Rocky Progress in Equal Opportunities for Women in the German Labor Market

However, far more women than men are still working part-time. This “part-time gap” closed only by just under one hour worked per week. In 2020, the average number of hours worked in a week was 39.4 for men and 31.8 for women. In 1999, those figures were 41.5 and 32.7 hours respectively. The gap thus shrunk only from 8.8 to 7.6 hours.

“Today, women and men are still a long way from attaining equality in the German labor market,” says the study’s author Katharina Heisig. “One reason for this is that the part-time gap actually grew between 1999 and 2005. Not until 2013 did it drop back to its 1999 level.” The study is based on information relating to women and men in Germany aged between 25 and 64.

Other studies cite the slow evolution in gender roles and insufficient childcare options as reasons why these major differences persist in the labor market. Over the past 20 years, the gap in hours worked per week by women in eastern and western Germany has closed by just 1.5 hours. “Traditional gender roles are more pronounced in western Germany, where the childcare network is also less well developed than in eastern Germany,” Heisig adds. “Women in western Germany work 30.2 paid hours a week, which is still over 4 hours less than women in eastern Germany at 34.4 hours.”