"Men and Women are equal in Germany"
Did you know that on the 13th of May 1949 a law was passed in Germany, which claims "Men and Women are equal"? Even though the law was passed 67 years ago, it is still interesting to question if men and women are really equal in Germany. The following text focuses on to which degree men and women are equal, with regards to the aspects of elections, housework education of children, and career and education.
First of all, gender equality differs regionally due to the separation of the western FRG and the eastern GDR. In the territory of the former GDR, the so-called new states of: Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Brandenburg, East Berlin, Thuringia, Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt, gender equality is more developed than on the former territory of the FRG. This is due to the principle of communism, which claims that there are no classes, and led the GDR. Consequently, women do not differ from men because of the absence of class systems. Due to communism, women were more emancipated in the society of the GDR as compared to that of the FRG's society. Statistics show the differences in gender equality in the full time occupation of women in West Germany. While about 15 percent of West German mothers work full time, more than half of East German mothers have a full time job (cf. http://www.bpb.de/izpb/198038/ungleichheiten-zwischen-frauen-und-maennern?p=all).
Secondly, the gender equality will be discussed regarding elections. Concerning elections women and men are equal. Ever since the 13th of May 1949, women have had the same voting rights as men do, this paragraph of the constitution (Grundgesetz) also states that men and women are equal. Consequently, the principles of elections, which make voting free, secret and equal, applies for both genders in Germany.
This shows that elections are equal, in the eyes of the law, for both genders.
Next, the focus will be directed to the argument "housework and education of children".
Although the number of women in the workforce has substantially increased since 1960( cf. http://www.bpb.de/system/files/pdf/O4NQPA.pdf), the sector of household and education has still been heavily dominated by women.
Housework and the education of children are still areas dominated by women, as the Federal Agency for Civic Education (German: bpb) claims that in the year 2000 the majority of the housework is done by women (cf. http://www.bpb.de/apuz/26768/geschlechtergleichheit-in-deutschland?p=all), even though the number of women having a career has increased and a lot of women are independent concerning income. Thus, the typical gender roles apply, the husband goes to work and the wife stays at home. This stereotypical role is still represented in a lot of German households. Consequently, a lot of women are not just doing the housework, but also educating their children. Generally speaking, women are often not able to have a career, due to their responsibility concerning the housework and education of the family's children.
The following section assesses the equality between men and women concerning jobs. In Germany, women suffer from a lot of disadvantages in their jobs. First of all, problems for women concerning jobs already starts with their application. Women's applications are treated differently than male applications and are even more likely to have their application denied. If a female employee becomes pregnant, the profit of the workplace will decrease because of missing labor force and employers will have to pay the mother a certain percentage of the wage for maternity leave. This is often the reason for a denial in an application of women.
Secondly, if women receive a job, they encounter problems when it comes to promotion, Especially in leadership positions of e.g. professorates and chief physicians. (http://www.bpb.de/izpb/198038/ungleichheiten-zwischen-frauen-und-maennern?p=all) Women are the minority because of cultural stances, and leadership is usually an area for men. As the Süddeutsche Zeitung claims, German cultural stances makes people interpret the same behavior of women and men differently. If a male often expresses his own opinion, he will be seen as competent, but if a woman shows the same behavior, as mentioned above, she will be seen as dominant (cf. http://www.sueddeutsche.de/karriere/gleichberechtigung-im-job-sechs-huerden-die-es-frauen-im-beruf-schwer-machen-1.2961470-2).
Furthermore, women still earn less money than their male counterparts, although both groups have the same job training. Even though this situation, regarding to women's salaries, has improved over time, it is still a problem in Germany. The difference in salary is also called "Gender Pay Gap" (cf. http://www.zeit.de/karriere/2016-03/gender-pay-gap-frauen-maenner-gehalt-unterschiede-studie). The "Gender Pay Gap" also has regional differences in Germany, while women of the same occupation, training and age in West Germany earn about 19-20% less than their male colleagues do, women in East Germany earn 16% less than males of the same job, training and age. Thus, women have more issues in their job compared to men.
Next, the aspect of education will be discussed. Equality between males and females is represented concerning education. Both girls and boys have the right for education, not like in Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale", which I read in English class. In the dystopian novel "The Handmaid's Tale" females are not allowed to read, instead they have special pictures for certain things e.g. The picture for a grocery store is milk and honey (cf. "The Handmaid's Tale", p.47 ISBN:978-0-385-49081-8). In Germany, all students receive the same education regardless of gender and there is no class division just with male students or female students.
In addition, after primary school every student gets a recommendation by their own class teacher for one of the three secondary school forms. This recommendation is based on the grades of the student and not on the gender (cf. http://www.siemens.de/jobs/schulabsolventen/information-parents/Documents/TextEltern_EN.pdf)
Furthermore, I believe that teachers in Germany do not prefer female students as a lot of male students claim. For example, in my school there are no such coaching classes in certain subjects, which are only for girls.
Generally speaking, girls and boys have the same chances in schools and no gender is favored.
To conclude, women have equal rights as men concerning education and elections but have major issues in their jobs and often have a huge responsibility when it comes to maintaining their household, which often limits them from the ability of having a job. In my opinion, the statement "Men and Women are equal" is incorrect. In a lot of aspects in life women and men are not equal in Germany, such as in their careers and in the division of housework and in the education of their own children. Even though gender equality in elections and education are already huge improvements, there is still work to be done. When it comes to the unfair aspects in a woman's life such as the issues women face in their professional career and especially the "Gender Pay Gap" in Germany.
Sources/References
http://www.siemens.de/jobs/schulabsolventen/information-parents/Documents/TextEltern_EN.pdf
http://www.bpb.de/izpb/198038/ungleichheiten-zwischen-frauen-und-maennern?p=0
http://www.bpb.de/politik/wahlen/bundestagswahlen/62536/grundsaetze-des-wahlrechts
http://www.zeit.de/karriere/2016-03/gender-pay-gap-frauen-maenner-gehalt-unterschiede-studie
http://www.bpb.de/apuz/26768/geschlechtergleichheit-in-deutschland?p=all
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood p.47 ISBN:978-0-385-49081-8