Alice Bettencourt
February 26, 1999
Paper #3

Gender Policy in the German Welfare State

The German unification in 1990 resulted in two ideologically opposed states merging into one democratic state. The former communist German Democratic Republic, or GDR, in the east unified with the democratic Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) of the west to create a new nation of political and economic prosperity though not without consequences. Post-unification has increased concern about the possible collapse of the social welfare state due to low economic growth combined with an increase in unemployment and additional citizens (previous East Germans) receiving social assistance. The merging of these two nations has also brought together two entirely different ideologies about a woman's role in society.  In the former Federal Republic of Germany, women were traditionally perceived as homemakers while the men were the breadwinners of the family. Men participated in the workforce while the women's role was as wives and mothers.  This traditional view is instilled in West Germans due to their conservative Catholic and Protestant influence. West Germans view family tradition and cohesiveness as an important factor to a successful society. Women who worked at home taking care of the family were seen as important as the men who were employed in the factories were. The man brought home the families' income while the woman's career was to take care of the home.

The former East Germany had an opposite view of women in society. The Communist party's ideological view was that every person should have an "emphasis on employment as a citizenship duty." (Adler, Pg. 249) This view included women being productive in the workforce.  Women in East Germany were encouraged to work and to contribute to society through employment as well as through their role of being a mother and a wife. Compared to 58% of women in West Germany, 91% of East German women worked before unification (Adler, Pg. 247).  Women in the former East Germany often had to take on the "superwoman" mentality that an increasing amount of American women have today, balancing out their life between work and home. The women of East Germany often enjoyed a life free of, or less dependent on, a man's income by itself.  She often received a feeling of economic independence and increased self-esteem due to her role in the East German workforce. She was defined in more terms than just a wife and a mother.  Participating in the work force lead to personal affirmation as well.   "Twenty-five percent of West German women regard homemaker as their dream job, whereas only 3% of East German women do so." (Adler, Pg. 249) To help with the balancing act that many women in East Germany performed, social welfare policies in GDR supported a woman's decision to work while or instead of having a family.  Policies implemented by the East German State included state-operated childcare centers and a year off of work for each child born. (Adler, Pg. 248)  Women were encouraged to balance their lives with both paid work and their families. When the two German nations unified their policies towards women and the workforce unfortunately did not.  The West's traditional role of women staying home to take care of the family and to limit women in the work force prevailed.  East German women no longer have the popular support to be the "superwomen" that they had before unification. Once unified, Germans had to consolidate their economies as well as their politics. The unification lead to an increase in the unemployment rate due to West and East German workers, both men and women, competing for a limited number of jobs. Unemployment rates have remained around twenty percent for East German women for the past few years. This is approximately five percent higher than East German men and approximately twice the percentage rate as for West German men and women. (Economist, July 18, 1998) This is especially difficult due to the wages in East Germany being lower than in Western Germany therefore many eastern families are forced to have a second income. East German women, previously independent and self-sufficient economically, today in the new Germany have to compete with men who also are unemployed. Combining a Western German culture that urges women to take the traditional family role with high rates of unemployment, women in the new Germany are facing a dilemma of fewer women in the work force and more women at home. After unification, women in the east became deprived of their cherished and popular universal childcare system.  Though they existed, West Germany did not encourage childcare systems as East Germany did because it would increase the number of women in the workplace. More women in the workforce therefore meant fewer women at home with their families. Children after the age of three are allowed to be placed in "kindergarten" but oftentimes the school hours do not correlate with the mother's work hours (Economist, July 18, 1998). If these women have the option of either competing for employment in a high-competition market or staying home to take care of the home and raise children, (while receiving assistance from the government for doing so) one would imagine that these women would be having several children and watching soap operas.  In fact, for these East German women it is opposite. East German women continue to look for employment instead of having more children. The birth rate for the east has declined almost fifty percent from an already low 1.56 children per woman in 1989.  Today the birth rate for these German women remains below one child per women (Economist, July 18, 1998). Today's Germany does allow for a mother or a father to take parental leave of up to three years off of their job while keeping their job security and getting paid, though modestly. In ninety-nine percent of all German parental leave cases, the mother stayed home to take on the parental duties (Economist, July 18, 1998).  This policy may seem pro-women in the workforce, allowing women to return to their workplace after three years.  Realistically, a person who takes three years off of work is usually has to be re-trained and finds it difficult to return. Many women remain in their domestic roles rather than returning to work after their intermission from the workplace due to these difficulties. West German women have increased in the number of participants (60% of West German women) in the workforce though the majority is only part-time. West German mentality though remains to follow the West German law repealed in 1977 that woman can work "insofar as compatible with her duties within the marriage and the family." (Economist, July 18, 1998) The tax system also promotes a one-income family by continuing to allow married couple to divide their income for tax purposes. 

Will the West German system of the traditional gender roles help or hinder German society?  Some argue that Germany's traditional view of women, in comparison to the United States', leads to a positive influence on society by promoting family values.  West Germans tend to believe more than East Germans that younger children who are raised by their mothers are less likely to suffer than those who spend the majority of their day in a childcare facility do. (Alder, Pg. 249) Still, others disagree stating that women need to participate in the workforce to help the current German economic situation. Also argued is that women pushed into traditional roles is not a positive influence but instead is a negative reflection on women's rights in society. Women have fought for the right to be treated equally in the workforce globally for years and to be independent of male financial support. Women who are over forty years old often find it difficult to participate in this female homemaker tradition. These women from the East who in the past chose a career over family life are now faced with being unemployed and past the age where starting a family is often thought about. German tradition may actually reduce the feminist fight for equality.  If more German women work, it will increase the social assistance reserve due to the German's "pay-as-you-go" system. If a woman (or a man) does not work and receives social assistance then she (or he) is reducing these reserves without paying into it. The more unemployed citizens the less the social welfare system has in its reserve therefore threatening the system.  Both women and men use welfare state resources such as healthcare, unemployment assistance and family allowance but if women are encouraged not to work then they will be extracting from the system without personally paying into it.  The debate about where "a woman's place" should be in society should not be a question of purely economics or tradition but about equality.  A woman (and a man) should have the right to make their own decision whether they want to stay home and raise a family or participate in the workforce.  One way should not be promoted over another in a truly democratic state.  Women have worked hard for this choice and should not be condemned by either side for their decision.  If a woman wants to work and the male would like to stay home with the children than that should be as accepted as the traditional male breadwinner/woman homemaker role. Family values are important in society but gender independence and equality are also important. Women should not be faced with an either/or situation.  They should be able to work while dividing the family duties between the family members or stay at home, happily raising their children.

WORKS CITED
1. Adler, Marina A. and April Brayfield, "Women's Work Values in Unified Germany: Regional Differences as Remnants of the Past", _Work and Occupations_, May 1997, p245(22)
2. Collier, Jr. Irwin L.,  "Rebuilding the German Welfare State," Chpt. 13 in David P. Condrats and others, eds., _Germany's New Politics_, Tempe: German Studies, Arizona State University, 1995
3. "Where East Meets West: Employment of Women in Eastern and Western Germany," _The Economist_, July 18, 1998 pS5(1)