Compatibility, Equality, and Employment – New Study by the Family Ministry

Families in Germany are far from equal participation in work and family responsibilities. The results of a recent study show that there's a world of difference between dreams and reality:

Every third woman between 30 and 50 years old desires a partnership in which woman and man equally share household and childcare tasks and both earn money equally – but only 14% of couples live this model. according to the new study by the Ministry of Family Affairs , which deals with the desires and life realities of women between 30 and 50 years.

Every second woman in this age group would like to live in a partnership where the woman and man share the tasks for household and children, but do not earn the income completely equally—yet only 24% of all women live in such a partnership.

Income and Qualifications of Women Aged 30 to 50 - Facts

Women and men between the ages of 30 and 50 have equivalent school qualifications (women even slightly more often have completed secondary education). A full 82% of women aged 30 to 50 can show a professional qualification. Despite having a professional qualification, only 39% of women aged 30 to 50 work full-time – but 88% of men do.

Only 10% of women aged between 30 and 50 have a net income of over 2,000 euros, compared to 42% of men in the same age group. Of the married women in this age group, 19% have no personal income, and a total of 63% earn less than 1,000 euros per month. Only 6% of married women have a net income of over 2,000 euros.

Expected poverty in old age for women between 30 and 50

Specifically, single parents expect to rely on transfer payments in old age (68%), but more than half of married women also assume that their pension will not be sufficient to live on. Moreover, a full 74% of divorced women expect only a small pension. In contrast, 77% of men between the ages of 30 and 50 are confident that their pension will be enough to cover their living expenses.

Equality

For a modern, well-functioning society, gender equality is essential according to 83% of women. However, only 12% of women feel that equality between women and men is already being comprehensively practiced. 58% of women in mid-life believe that equality hardly takes place in many areas.

Conclusions: What is to be done?

• 96% of women between 30 and 50 demand equal pay: Women and men must receive the same hourly wage for the same or equivalent qualifications and work.
• 94% demand that there should no longer be a pension gap between women and men.

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