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Women in west fill 'misogynistic' mini-jobs

Published: 3 Jan 13 10:49 CET | Print version
Online: http://www.thelocal.de/money/20130103-47115.html

Most of Germany's low-paid "mini-jobs" are filled by women in the West, according to new figures seen by Die Welt on Thursday.

Women in West Germany work more low-paid mini-jobs - positions exempt from taxes and national insurance contributions with a monthly wage cap of €450 - than any other group in the country, according to the Hans-Böckler economic and social research institute.

In some areas in North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland Palatinate and Lower Saxony mini-jobs make up as much as a third of all positions and one in four working women in the west are in low-paid jobs. In some western areas this figure is as high as 40 percent.

In the east of the country, however, mini-jobs are much rarer overall and just 16 percent of working women have one. The study's authors said this could be thanks to a longer history of women in full time employment in East Germany.

"Women in East Germany retained this stronger employment orientation after German unification," said study leader Alexander Herzog-Stein.

Meanwhile in the west, the authors suggested, traditional work-sharing roles where men work full-time and women juggle part-time work and caring for the family are more widespread.

"In the countryside it is mostly harder to combine family and career than in cities." Herzog-Stein told the paper. "That's because of unsatisfactory childcare."

Family Minister Kristina Schröder said that mini-jobs were misogynistic as women returning to part-time work after having a child often get stuck in mini-jobs without the prospect of full-time work later on.

"Instead we see a sticking effect: once a mini-job, always a mini-job," wrote Schröder in a new book to be released this month.

The Local/jlb

What do you think? Leave your comment below.


Your comments about this article:

11:53 January 5, 2013 by honeybeee
sounds ugly , how this happen in a woman chancellor country like West country Germany???????
10:15 January 6, 2013 by Landmine
Women in west fill 'misogynistic' mini-jobs...

'Misogynistic???? Where do you people get these obscure, never used English words??????
01:55 January 7, 2013 by honeybeee
'Misogynistic ' is really an ugly word to despise woman,but pls dont

forget that the greatest mind in world born from woman.I think woman

cant be pessimistic,because woman herself can be great too. Do u know

the famous example in Schaeffler Ag, of course that is Mrs.Maria

Schaeffler, after her husband died , she shoulder the heavy

responsiblity to watch over this global family owned business and have

more than 78000 employees worldwide, her deeds do show woman's courage

and ability can be compared with man and even exceed,and she believes

woman can do better ,recently she just use 2 woman managers in Hungary

subbranch ,in their recent expanded factory management teams as

important roles,so what's different between woman from east side and

west side, they can all be great if they want and exactly commit in

their jobs,of course it needs some sacrifice maybe in other sides

sometimes.
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