Profession and caregiving responsibilities for parents: Desire and reality often contradict
At the study, besides BIB, the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW) was also involved. According to the results, significantly more interviewees prefer a sharing model where both parents work approximately 30 hours per week, as opposed to the current practice. This also applies to the model of both parents working full-time.
Conversely, the so-called Family Breadwinner Model, which is less idealized but more common in reality, shows a different trend. In this model, the father works full-time, while the Mother does not. The same holds true for the So-called Sharing Breadwinner Model. In this case, the mother is employed part-time at most.
The data used in the study were analyzed separately for Western and Eastern Germany. Accordingly, there is more approval for equal earning models in the East than in the West. In particular, the full-time employment of both parents is more frequently reported in the East with up to 62 percent, compared to the West with up to 38 percent. The exact approval rate depends on the age of the child.
The implementation of the full-time model is less common in Eastern Germany than in the West. The full-time model is implemented in the East with up to 43 percent, and in the West with a maximum of 16 percent.
The model with a maximum of 30 working hours for both father and mother is seen as ideal by up to 30 percent in the East and up to 27 percent in the West. However, in reality, this model plays a negligible role with around six percent in both parts of Germany.
"The majority of the interviewed persons see equal work distribution between genders as optimal," explained Ludovica Gambaro from BIB. "However, parents cannot keep up with this ideal," she added.
The main reason for the lack of implementation is the German tax and transfer system, explained Katharina Wrohlich from DIW. She referred to the interplay of spouse splitting and mini-jobs, as well as the wage gap between women and men. This makes a Working Poor Model with a full-time working husband and a wife with a mini-job financially the most attractive option.
The study authors see a need for action on several fronts. In addition to reforming spouse splitting and largely abolishing mini-jobs, they emphasize the need for "needs-based childcare infrastructure for children from the age of two to twelve," explained BIB Director Katharina Spieß. The expansion of full-day schools also needs to be accelerated.
- The study involving BIB and the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW) highlighted a preference for shared work models in Germany, with many favoring both parents working around 30 hours per week.
- While the Family Breadwinner Model, where the father works full-time and the mother does not, is more common in reality, it shows less approval compared to sharing models in Wiesbaden and other parts of Western Germany.
- Contrastingly, in Eastern Germany, there is more approval for equal earning models, particularly the full-time employment of both parents, which is reported at up to 62 percent compared to Western Germany's 38 percent.
- The study findings suggest that the implementation of a full-time model, where both parents work full-time, is less common in Eastern Germany, with a maximum of 43 percent compared to the West's 16 percent.
- In terms of profession, the Federal Institute for Population Research (BIB) played a significant role in analyzing the data, and Katharina Wrohlich from DIW emphasized the impact of the German tax and transfer system on the lack of implementation of ideal work distribution models.
- BIB Director Katharina Spieß emphasized the need for action, including reforming spouse splitting and mini-jobs, expanding needs-based childcare infrastructure, and accelerating the expansion of full-day schools to support the implementation of a more equitable care-work distribution in Germany.
