Occasionally, legislative amendments pertaining to gender equality were scaled back after the fact, because they did not appear to be reconcilable with the rights of third parties; this was the case with the alimony provisions of the 1976 Marriage Law Reform, which were relatively favorable for women, and the 1974 “periodic” regulation [Fristenregelung] on abortion, which, after the Federal Constitutional Court intervened in 1994, was changed into an “indication” regulation [Indikationsregelung] with compulsory counseling. The expansion of women’s scope for action, the establishment of egalitarian gender relations in various areas of life, and the development of fair partnerships are long-term processes. They progress at different speeds in different segments of society. Oftentimes, male and female lifestyle patterns that were formerly in alignment start contradicting each other in new ways. The multiplicity of life models available to women and men do not make it easy to provide political support for models of partnership.
Important impetuses to legislative changes – as well as to changes in social practice – came from the new women’s movement, from women’s groups in political parties and trade unions, and from women’s associations. These impetuses were seized upon by commissioners for women’s affairs, for example, in municipalities and businesses. Affirmative action plans were developed to promote women, and quotas and quorums were established. These measures paved the way for qualified women in certain areas to be promoted, all the way to top-level positions.
Equal opportunity policies depended and depend to a large degree on agreements between EU countries. The 1996 Amsterdam agreement on gender mainstreaming has been of particular strategic relevance in recent years. It obligates all actors in government administration to review their own programs, regulations, and decisions in order to determine if they (indirectly) put one gender at a disadvantage.
Serious changes in the economy, politics, and society are constantly leading to new inequalities in gender relations, while the known disparities are diminishing only very slowly. As a result, even today there are still areas that are not in compliance with the promise of Article 3, Section 2, of the Basic Law, which declares that “men and women shall have equal rights,” and its supplement of October 1994, “The state shall promote the actual implementation of equal rights for women and men and take steps to eliminate disadvantages that now exist.”
Debate on the present draft of an anti-discrimination law will certainly serve to raise awareness about matters of equal rights. In addition to women, other socially disadvantaged groups will also start speaking out more: for example, groups defined by citizenship, groups with foreign world views, or people with disabilities. In this debate, it is important to be able to refer precisely to the remaining discrepancies in the living conditions of women and men.
Therefore, it makes sense to look at the current status of [efforts toward] gender equality in Germany.
[ . . . ]
Source: “Gender-Datenreport, 1. Datenreport zur Gleichstellung von Frauen und Männern in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, November 2005”[ “1st Data Report on Gender Equality in the Federal Republic of Germany, November 2005”]; http://bmfsfj.de/Publikationen/genderreport/0-einleitung.html.
Translation: Allison Brown
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