Even the powerhouse of Europe needs a change. The admonition is given by Olli Rehn, European Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs. From a survey on the economic policies of the EU countries carried out by the Commission, it emerges that in Germany there would be too few jobs for women. Compared with other countries, Germany can be proud of many factors (its economy is strong and its government deficit constantly decreases) but it should do something more for the promotion of equal opportunities.
The Commission has also criticised Austria and the Netherlands, asking them to follow the example of Scandinavian countries. In brief, although a woman, Angela Merkel, is the leader of the country and although many of the Ministers of her Government are women, in Germany the access of women to Labour market needs to be improved. The same can be said for older men without higher education and for non-EU workers. Even in these cases, German Government should try to find a solution to the problems limiting the access to employment.
By analysing some data, we notice that in Germany 5’600’000 women aged 25-59 years are jobless. Around 1’800’000 women are looking for a job and have never been registered as being in search of employment. 3’800’000 women are part of the inactive people and about 1’000’000 women have never had a first employment. Besides, only a reduced percentage of working women has a full-time job, whereas those who have a part-time job work on average 18 hours a week.
Why? On the one side the strong German welfare system gives mothers the possibility of looking after their children, taking leave from work. On the other, this situation causes an increasingly longer absence of women from labour market. But there also exists a cultural problem. In German there is a specific word, Rabenmütter, defining neglectful mothers. The English translation may be “crow mother”, but this phrase does not convey the same idea. The fact that this term is still used in Germany shows that female employment hangs behind.
On that regard, we simply remind that during the most difficult years of World War Two, while German towns were attacked day and night by Anglo-American bombers and both United Kingdom and Soviet Union had declared general mobilisation (women included), in Germany women did not play an active role in war. On the contrary, in order to guarantee a high living standard to bourgeois population, Nazis decided to let around one million and a half maids work in the houses in which they already worked.
However, as we have previously observed, Merkel’s Government is composed in large part by women. Five Ministers, indeed, are women, such as Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger, Federal Minister of Justice and Ursula von der Leyen, Federal Minister for Labor and Social Affairs. Von der Leyen proposed the introduction Frauenquote, the female quotas, within 2013. “It is necessary to increase the percentage of women holding leadership roles,” said the Minister to the “Handelsblatt”, the most important German newspaper on economics.
A significant change may occur in September, on the occasion of municipal elections. The coalition government (SPD and Linke) is in crisis, whereas polls show that among voters the popularity of the Grünen (Greens) is increasing. And their candidate, Renate Künast, may be the first woman to be elected as Mayor of the German capital.
On the inside: