Fight for equality: Women continue to be disadvantaged in the labor market!

Fight for equality: Women continue to be disadvantaged in the labor market!

International Women's Day will be celebrated worldwide on March 8, 2025, and has served as a significant occasion for discussion about gender equality since its inception in 1911. On this special day, researchers and activists highlight the progress and setbacks in gender studies. Current developments, especially in the USA, are endangering efforts to achieve equality, which is also not without consequences in Germany. In a research project at the University of Paderborn, led by Prof. Dr. Antje Langer and Dr. Susanne Richter, the current status and development of gender issues is analyzed. Loud uni-paderborn.de Discussions about systemically relevant professions, care work and domestic violence have become more important due to the corona pandemic.

The #MeToo movement has brought sexualized violence into the public eye and contributed to the introduction of the “diverse” category in the Personal Status Act in 2018. In addition, the Self-Determination Act will come into force in 2024. Despite this progress, contradictions in gender relations have grown significantly. Authoritarian forces appear to be directly linked to progressive developments. The Science Council has also recommended that gender studies be made more interdisciplinary in order to promote the relevance of gender aspects in research and society.

Gender equality in Germany

In Germany, equal rights for men and women are anchored in Article 3, Paragraph 2 of the Basic Law. This includes rights equally, while equality describes the political implementation of these rights. The Hans Böckler Foundation researched gender equality trends and found that women worked an average of 7.9 hours less than men in 2020. A worrying figure of 46% of women were employed part-time, while only 11% of men were employed.

The coronavirus pandemic has proven to be a setback for equality, with many mothers reducing their working hours. Women still organize everyday life in most households, regardless of whether they work part-time or full-time. The term “mental load” describes the often invisible mental work that women in particular take on while they continue to be disadvantaged in the working world.

Gender pay gap and leadership positions

A key challenge remains the gender pay gap, which will remain unchanged in 2023. Women earned 18% less than men in 2020, and across the economy this gap remains at 18%. The proportion of women in management positions also shows a need for improvement: only 11% of board positions and 32% of supervisory board positions are held by women. Women are underrepresented in the dual training system and only make up a third of trainees. These data show that gender inequality is present in almost all economic sectors, necessitating comprehensive reform of gender equality policies.

In addition, current studies by the Economic and Social Sciences Institute WSI show that women are also heavily underrepresented in sectors such as mechanical engineering and the construction industry, where their proportion is less than 30%. The proportion of women is only 56% in the textile industry, while high values ​​of 80% and 76% are achieved in health and social services. These statistics highlight the need to create better working conditions and equal opportunities for women.

In conclusion, International Women's Day brings much-needed awareness to the existing gender inequality. Researchers and organizations are working hard to ensure that gender issues become more visible in research, public discourse and politics. The “GeFoWiss” project initiative at the University of Paderborn is a step in the right direction to strengthen gender aspects in research.