Publikationen der Forschungsgruppe Gender Economics

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Traditional Attitudes Toward Gender Roles Are Increasing Among Young People in Some Countries

Attitudes toward the roles of women and men in society have become more egalitarian in Germany and most countries around the world since World War II. Recently, however, this process has slowed significantly, even reversing in some places. In most countries, the attitudes of the youngest ten age groups surveyed are hardly any more egalitarian than those of the ten age groups before them. In about a ...

Gender Pay Gap Increases with Age among All Educational Backgrounds

The average gender pay gap in Germany is 16 percent according to the most recent data. On the occasion of the 2025 Equal Pay Day, this Weekly Report using Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) data shows that considerable differences according to age and level of education are hiding behind this average gap. For example, the gender pay gap increases significantly with age for people of all educational backgrounds ...

Despite Rising Shares of Women on Executive And Supervisory Boards, Gender Parity Remains A Far-off Goal

In 2024, the share of women on the top decision-making boards of the largest companies in Germany increased. A solid 19 percent of all executive board members at the 200 largest companies are now women, and almost 26 percent of members at the 40 largest listed companies are women. The financial sector is also catching up in this regard. Moreover, legal requirements, such as the inclusion requirement ...

Division of Paid and Care Work Between Parents: Reality Often Differs Greatly from the Ideals

On average, mothers and fathers in Germany divide paid work and care work very unequally. Mothers often only work part time, which results in further gender inequalities in the labor market. A current analysis of data from the German Family Demography Panel Study (FReDA) shows that the population’s attitudes toward the ideal division of work between couples with children under 12 are considerably more ...

No Lasting Increase in the Gender Care Gap in Germany after the Coronavirus Pandemic

The gender care gap, i.e., the difference between the amount of unpaid care work—such as childcare and housework—performed between men and women is comparatively high in Germany: Women take on much more unpaid care work than men. This gap increases consistently when starting a family. At the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, many feared that the gender care gap may grow even larger. In ...

Share of Women on the Executive Boards of Large Companies Has Increased, but Generally Is at Most One Woman

The number of women serving on the executive boards of large companies in Germany once again increased in 2023: Around 18 percent (153 of 875) of executive board members at the 200 largest companies were women as of late fall 2023, two percentage points higher than in 2022. Thus, growth has slightly picked up again. In some of the groups of companies analyzed, the figure was even higher. Around 23 ...

Gender Care Gap and Gender Pay Gap Increase Substantially until Middle Age

While the gender pay gap between men and women in Germany remains at 18 percent, this figure is not the same for all employees. There are, for example, major differences by age. Beginning at age 30, the gender pay gap increases sharply and remains constantly high at 20 percent until retirement. Closely related to this is the gender care gap, the difference in unpaid care work between women and men. ...

Corporate Reporting Provides Insight into Companies’ Commitment to Gender Equality

Many companies in Germany must provide information beyond financial figures in their annual reports. For some years now, legislators have increasingly required information on non-financial aspects, such as the shares of women in leadership positions. Using a quantitative text analysis of annual reports, this second report in the 2023 DIW Berlin Women Executives Barometer shows that the major publicly ...

Number of Women on Boards of Large Companies Keeps Growing: Momentum from Inclusion Requirement, However, Is Waning

The upward trend in women’s representation on executive and supervisory boards of major companies in Germany continued in 2022, although the overall momentum has slowed yet again. Growth on executive boards in particular has slowed, as the most recent DIW Berlin Women Executives Barometer shows: Following a significant increase at the 200 largest companies from 2020 to 2021, there was only a one-percentage-point ...