Women's Preferences or Delineated Policies?
ROLE OF GOVERNMENT POLICY
The preferences of West German women for part-time work only played an indirect role in the
strong development of part-time work in Germany, yet the initial growth and development of part-
time work in Germany is not directly attributable to government policy either. Part-time work was
not directly supported by the government until late into the tenure of the centre-right Kohl
governments (1982-1998), later continued by the centre-left coalition under Schroeder (1998-).
With rising unemployment and in an apparent move to counter collective work-sharing options of
the German unions, the Kohl government, and German employers, began to discover and praise the
part-time job expansion of its small Western neighbour. However, there were very few concrete
policy proposals. In the mid1990s there were only some job creation schemes, including some
measures to reduce working hours to 80 per cent of the normal working time in the public sector
(Killman and Klein, 1997). Under the first Schroeder government in 1998, support of part-time
work, in the form of mini jobs (with lover levels of wage costs and social protection), and legislation
regarding employees’ ability to work part-time became more important. Some of the more recent
efforts to support part-time work during the second Schroeder government include the attempt to
re-regulate ‘mini-jobs’ and address work-family balance issues, also in response to European
legislation and policies.
In 2001, the new law on part-time and fixed-term work came into effect, which gives employees the
right to request a reduction in working time in companies with more than 15 employees and places
restrictions on the use of fixed-term contracts (EIRO, 2002a). While long-term effects of this
legislation are not yet visible, initial reports suggest that only a minority of employees is exercising
their right to reduce working hours, less than one percent in the year the new legislation came into
force. Four out of five employees requesting a reduction in working hours are women (EIRO,
2003a). It is difficult to say whether greater numbers of employees will make use of this legislation,
yet it theoretically provides many employees with the opportunity to have more influence on their
individual working time.
The new focus on work-family balance could work to increase the popularity of reduced working
hours, mostly in the form of part-time. Legislation introduced in 2002 to promote a work-family
balance (EIRO, 2003a) intended to promote women’s employment and increase equal employment
opportunities for men and women. This legislation prompted mixed responses from the social
partners and women’s organizations. Social partners herald the legislation as much needed, yet
employers’ organizations remain sceptical about increased costs. Women’s organizations feel the
legislation is not far-reaching enough to create significant change. The current work-family balance
campaign by the Ministry for Family, Seniors, Women and Youth, while recognizing problems such
as a lack of childcare and the unwillingness of employers to address work-family issues, mainly
recommends voluntary solutions, to be found in the context of collective bargaining (BFSFJ, 2003).
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AIAS - UvA