Gender Equality Reports of the Federal Government are reports prepared by a commission of experts on the state of equality between women and men in Germany. In 2005, the coalition agreement between the CDU, CSU and SPD stipulated for the first time that a “Report on Equality between Women and Men” should be drawn up in each legislative term. On the occasion of the debate on the results of the First Gender Equality Report, the Bundestag and the Bundesrat called on the Federal Government to continue to submit a report on gender equality once per parliamentary term. Following a guiding idea, the Expert Commission formulates gender equality policy objectives and recommendations for action.[1] In addition, the expert public is involved in the preparation of gender equality reports by obtaining expert opinions and civil society in the context of specialist events. The Federal Government appends its opinion to the expert report and then submits both parts together as an “equality report” to the Bundestag and the public. Regular gender reporting is an important element of effective institutional mechanisms for the enforcement of equality. With the help of gender reports, a government can develop and implement a consistent, goal- and impact-oriented gender policy. The First Gender Equality Report of the Federal Government was published in June 2011 for the 17th parliamentary term. The Second Gender Equality Report of the Federal Government for the 18th parliamentary term was published in June 2017. The Second Gender Equality Report of the Federal Government for the 18th parliamentary term was published in June 2017. The Federal Government’s Third Gender Equality Report for the 18th legislative period was published in June 2019.

In the 2005 coalition agreement, the CDU, CSU and SPD agreed to submit a report on equality between women and men per legislature. In 2008, the then Federal Minister for Family Affairs, Ursula von der Leyen, commissioned a commission of experts to prepare the report for the First Gender Equality Report of the Federal Government. The interdisciplinary committee included the following professors:

• Ute Klammer (Chair), University of Duisburg-Essen
• Gerhard Bosch (from February 2010), University of Duisburg-Essen
• Cornelia Helfferich, Evangelical University of Freiburg
• Tobias Helms (until November 2010), Philipps-Universität Marburg
• Uta Meier-Gräwe, Justus Liebig University Giessen
• Paul Nolte, Freie Universität Berlin
• Marion Schick (Chair and member until February 2010), Minister for Culture, Youth and Sport of the State of Baden-Württemberg from February 2010 to May 2011
• Margarete Schuler-Harms Helmut Schmidt University/University of the Bundeswehr Hamburg
• Martina Stangel-Meseke, Business and Information Technology School gGmbH, Iserlohn

The “Gender Report Office” was set up at the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft’s headquarters in January 2009 to provide administrative and scientific support to the Expert Commission. On 25 January 2011, after more than two years of work, the Commission handed over its report entitled “New Paths – Equal Opportunities. Equality between Women and Men in the Life Course” to the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (BMFSFJ). The BMFSFJ, as the lead department, prepared the corresponding opinion of the Federal Government and submitted it to the Federal Cabinet for decision. On 15 June 2011, the Federal Cabinet approved the Federal Government’s Statement and the Expert Report of the Gender Equality Report Commission as the Federal Government’s First Gender Equality Report. Subsequently, the First Gender Equality Report of the Federal Government was published. It was forwarded to both the Bundestag and the Bundesrat and discussed there.

The Expert Report for the First Gender Equality Report of the Federal Government provides for the first time a comprehensive inventory of equality in Germany. It focuses on the current situation of women and men in key key areas and shows how a consistent gender equality policy for women and men can be developed in the long term. Only the life course perspective reveals the long-term consequences of decisions at individual stages of life. In order to take this into account, gender equality policy must in future be seen more as both horizontal and longitudinal. The report shows that, despite considerable progress, gender equality policy in Germany lacks a consistent model. In this way, political and legal measures for different phases of life stand side by side. As a result, incentives for very different lifestyles are provided at the same time, or support in one phase of life breaks off or moves in another direction. These breaks, which resemble an unfinished construction site with many dead ends, can be found in many places in Germany and, according to the expert commission, should be urgently reduced. Finally, a consistent gender equality policy is an important part of modern innovation policy. It has enormous potential, including economic potential, and is proving to be indispensable in the face of demographic change and the increasing need for skilled workers. Harnessing all talents and improving women’s employment opportunities make society more efficient and help stabilise the social and tax system. Such a consistent gender equality policy requires not only government action, but also business and society. The mission statement of the expert report for the First Gender Equality Report of the Federal Government aims at equal and effective choices and opportunities for women and men. It is important that, in addition to gainful employment, there is sufficient room for socially necessary, unpaid care work, for further education and for personal time. Career interruptions must not lead to long-term disadvantages. Overall, the longer-term effects of certain life choices need to be taken into account and made more aware of.

The expert report focuses on “equality in education” and “equality in working life.” Education and employment have a lasting impact on women’s and men’s work and life histories and are at the same time important keys to participation in other areas of society. Closely related to this are the role models in the law, the time spent by men and women in the area of tension between gainful employment and care work, and social security in old age, which balances out the unequal opportunities, especially in the area of employment over the course of life. The topics and contents of the expert report for the First Gender Equality Report of the Federal Government at a glance:

• Lifelong perspective: Sustainable gender equality policy requires a holistic perspective. Only the life course perspective makes it clear what consequences life events and decisions made at different stages of life have in the long term for different groups of women and men. This section of the expert report lays the theoretical and methodological foundations for gender equality policy from a life-course perspective.
• Law: modernise role models and align law consistently with the principle of equality. Many regulations in tax, social and labour law are still based on lifelong marriage and traditional role sharing. However, the modern, diverse forms of partnership and individual living require flexible legal frameworks detached from traditional role models. The establishment of consistent law and the coordination of role expectations over the course of life are important tasks of equality policy as a legal policy in Germany.
• Education: preventing downward spirals and promoting choices at all stages of life. Education is a key to success throughout life. Equal opportunities for men and women must therefore be created in the education system. Both should be able to choose equally from the range of educational opportunities, make use of early stages of education and subsequently upgrade their qualifications.
• Working life: removing disincentives, creating equal pay and promotion opportunities. There is still no equal participation of women and men in working life. For example, there are strong incentives for women not to work or to work in low employment. Women are also significantly under-represented in career development measures and in management positions.
• Use of time: to allow flexibility and strengthen different forms of work. Men are still dominated by gainful employment and women by housework and care work. This seldom corresponds to actual wishes. Both women and men must be able to engage in other necessary activities, such as care work and care, in addition to paid work, without long-term disadvantages.
• Age: make old-age insurance poverty-proof and better reward care work. Gender inequalities in working life, interruptions in employment or even low wages have a direct impact right up to retirement age. On average, women earn significantly lower pensions than men, who are often unable to secure their livelihoods. This is exacerbated by the fact that care periods are not taken into account by the pension scheme.

Other issues important for equality, such as health inequalities or violence, are not highlighted in the expert opinion. Rather, they require an independent and comprehensive analysis from a gender perspective in the course of life and should therefore be examined in subsequent reports. The same applies to gender issues in the area of migration and integration, which are dealt with as a cross-cutting issue in the report.

The central finding of the expert report is that the road to real equal opportunities between women and men is still a long way to go in Germany. There is a need for action in many areas. The expert commission has identified this need for action throughout the life course and made concrete practical recommendations in the expert report. Selected requirements of the expert report for the First Gender Equality Report of the Federal Government are:

• Mini-job segment: remove incentives and abolish subsidies. Mini-jobs often have disastrous consequences – not only for equality. They appear to be attractive to both employers and employees in the short term, but rarely prove to be a bridge to employment subject to social security contributions. Small jobs, which are carried out in large numbers by women, lead to biographical dead ends and cause significant social costs, for example at Hartz IV or in the area of pension insurance.
• Care: Improve the situation of privately caring women and men. The number of people in need of care will increase significantly in the future. At the same time, the number of potential family carers is decreasing. A better integration of professional and home care and the gender-sensitive design of the care insurance law can counteract this. The disadvantage of care work for those in need of care in the pension compared to care work for children cannot be justified. In addition, caregivers need support from their employers and from human resources policies that provide flexible arrangements for key life events.
• Women in management positions: introduce gender quotas. The proportion of women in top management in Germany has stagnated at a low level for years. A quota whose non-compliance is effectively sanctioned can change this, as many neighboring countries have already successfully demonstrated. In addition, the legislature should examine how it can formulate minimum proportion regulations for women in management positions beyond supervisory boards.

The Committee of Experts is strongly in favour of regularly continuing the reporting on gender equality aspects, which was successfully started with the opinion on the first report on gender equality. The Commission recommends the establishment of a national reporting system for gender equality policy in Germany, which has existed for a long time in other policy areas (e.g. in the context of the family, elderly or children and youth reports) as well as in other European neighbouring countries.

In April 2015, the then Federal Minister for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth, Manuela Schwesig appointed a commission of experts to prepare an opinion for the Second Gender Equality Report. The Commission was constituted in May 2015.[2] The Commission of Experts worked voluntarily and independently. It was composed of the following 12 members:

• Eva Kocher (Chair), University of Frankfurt (Oder)
• Thomas Beyer, Technical University of Nuremberg
• Eva Blome, University of Greifswald
• Holger Bonin, Research Institute on the Future of Work (IZA)
• Ute Klammer, University of Duisburg-Essen
• Uta Meier-Gräwe, Justus Liebig University Giessen
• Helmut Rainer, ifo Institute – Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich
• Stephan Rixen, University of Bayreuth
• Christina Schildmann, Hans-Böckler-Stiftung
• Carsten Wippermann, Catholic University of Applied Sciences Munich and Delta Institute for Social Research
• Anne Wizorek, author, consultant for digital media
• Aysel Yollu-Tok, University of Economics and Law Berlin

The Commission consisted of experts who work and conduct research on gender equality issues in academia, but also in public life, in politics, associations and industry. Interdisciplinarity also existed with regard to the expertise provided by the Commission, which covered different fields of research and work, such as digital media, German studies, gender studies, political science, law, sociology and economics. The reappointment of Ute Klammer and Uta Meier-Gräwe was also linked to the work of the Expert Commission on the First Gender Equality Report. To provide scientific and organisational support to the Expert Commission, a “Office of the Second Gender Report of the Federal Government” was set up at the Institute for Social Work and Social Education under the direction of Regina Frey. About the responsibilities of the office based in Berlin and Frankfurt/M. These include the substantive and organisational preparation and follow-up of Commission meetings, forums and expert discussions. It also assists the Commission in preparing the opinion.[3] The Expert Commission’s report on the Second Gender Equality Report was handed over to the then Federal Minister for Women, Manuela Schwesig, in January 2017 and published in March 2017.[4] In addition, the following Federal Minister for Women Katarina Barley informed the Bundestag about the Second Gender Equality Report in a government survey.[5] The Federal Council took note of the Federal Government’s Second Gender Equality Report in September 2017.[6] The Second Gender Equality Report consists of the report of the Expert Commission and a statement of the Federal Government, which also includes an assessment of the First Gender Equality Report. The 190-page report deals with equality in four chapters: In an introductory part, important basics and the focus of the report are explained (see here basic concepts). The second part of the opinion discusses existing gender equality policy challenges and imbalances and derives gender equality policy objectives. The third chapter presents recommendations for action on key gender equality policy issues in ten thematic sections. The fourth chapter describes a further four themes as current challenges in gender equality policy.

The expert commission formulates the following guiding idea of gender equality in the expert report: “We strive for a society with equal opportunities for women and men, in which opportunities and risks are equally distributed over the course of life”.[7] This guiding idea is based, on the one hand, on the concept of the chances of realization[8] as a question of gender. According to this, a democratic and open society offers all people equal opportunities, regardless of gender, to develop and implement the ideas and lifestyles that suit them. On the other hand, the guiding idea of the expert commission is based on Art. 3 para. 2 of the Basic Law. Politics, as well as business and society, must ensure that opportunities for achievement and opportunities and risks throughout life are distributed regardless of gender.

To describe the state of gender equality in Germany, the life-course perspective was again chosen.

Decisions in biographical transition phases and at life’s junctions depend on a variety of social, economic and individual or family framework conditions. This includes, in particular, the individual social context. The life course perspective refers to the concept of linked lives, according to which people do not make essential life decisions individually, but embedded in social relationships with other people. In doing so, they negotiate with each other the division of labour between paid work and care work. Negotiations and their outcome are significantly influenced by the partner’s resource endowment, by prevailing gender stereotypes and by practiced and usual routines of everyday life. However, the institutional and legal framework conditions such as public childcare and care infrastructure, company working time routines and tax and social security economic incentives are also important factors for the division of labour. Above all, the framework conditions in Germany provide strong incentives for an unequal distribution of gainful employment and care work.

Different indicators have been used to illustrate the unequal social, economic and political participation of men and women and to provide evidence of lack of equality or unequal distribution of opportunities for achievement. Probably the best-known equality indicator is the gender pay gap; the gender pension gap is also established. However, both indicators only represent economic inequalities and thus reflect the exclusion of unpaid care work from the economy. However, social life and economic growth are not possible without family care work (care work). The expert commission therefore proposes in its report that the gender-care gap, which was calculated for the first time on its behalf[9], should be calculated regularly in future. The gender care gap measures the relative difference between men and women in the amount of time spent on care work each day. It indicates by what percentage the time that women spend on average per day on unpaid care work exceeds the average duration of men’s daily care work. It averaged 52.4 percent in 2012/2013, which means that adult women do one and a half times as much unpaid care work as men. This corresponds to an average of 87 minutes more care work per day. The largest gender care gap (110.6 percent) is observed at the age of 34: women then work on average 5 hours and 18 minutes of care work per day, while men only work 2 hours and 31 minutes. This “rush hour of life” brings together key life events and decisions such as career, choice of partner and responsibility for children and parents. Men spend more time on care work with age, while women spend less time on care work. Nevertheless, the gender-care gap remains clearly positive. Regardless of age, single women spend more time each day on care activities than single men. Couple households with children – mainly because of childcare – account for most of the care work. In this constellation, mothers do 2 hours and 30 minutes more care work per day than fathers, so that the overall gender care gap for people in couples' households with children is 83.3 percent. Data from the third representative time-use survey conducted by the Federal Statistical Office from 2012 to 2013 serve as the basis for calculating the gender-care gap. In total, more than 5,000 households and more than 11,000 people aged 10 and over were voluntarily interviewed in writing on their daily activities over three days – two days of the week and one day at the weekend.

Already in the First Gender Equality Report there is a call for a “new standard for workers with care obligations”[10], which can guide policy-makers in their decisions. Subsequently, the Commission of Experts considers that an equal treatment approach to employment and care work must enable all people, regardless of sex, to combine employment and care work on an equal footing throughout their lives. This point of view brings the “earner-carer model” to the point[11]. According to this, all people should be able to do private care work in addition to gainful employment, depending on their needs in the course of their lives; at the same time, informal care work must be able to be lived together with gainful employment at all times. A catchy German translation of the “earner-carer model” has not yet become established. The Commission of Experts uses the term “purchase and care model.” This model requires policymakers to address the existing problems of the division of work and care work and not to individualise the social organisation of care work in the private sector, but to ensure, through an institutional and political framework, that two-earner arrangements can be lived without excessive demands. The expert opinion emphasised that equality policy was not intended to dictate the acquisition and care model to people. Rather, it is a constitutional task to make this model of life possible and to create the conditions for people to be able to participate in gainful employment and care work on an equal footing, without having to forego opportunities or take special risks.

From the guiding principle of equality policy – equal opportunities regardless of sex and with a corresponding distribution of opportunities and risks throughout life – the expert commission derived concrete gender equality policy objectives for the organization of employment and care work. Equality therefore presupposes: the opportunity for equal participation in gainful employment in partnership for all, particularly women; the opportunity for men to participate in private care work on an equal footing and in partnership; the opportunity to combine gainful employment and care work in the course of life (employment and care model). Gender equality policy thus sets itself the task of combining a variety of gender equality policy objectives in different fields of action[12]:

• Independent economic security through equal integration into gainful employment
• Independent economic protection through social protection for unpaid care work
• Independent economic security in old age
• Equal pay for equal work and work of equal value
• High-quality and (financially) accessible care and nursing infrastructure
• Equal distribution of unpaid care work regardless of gender
• Reconciliation of good life, care and gainful work
• Elimination of gender stereotypes
• Elimination of discrimination and protection against gender-based violence

First of all, the expert opinion focuses on gainful employment, including both gainful employment and self-employment, as well as career choice and continuing vocational training. The still prevailing framework conditions of the “normal employment relationship” make it difficult for many people with care obligations to live a partnership-based purchase-and-care arrangement. Gender equality-oriented human resources planning should include all employees as gainful workers and care workers. Part-time work is often a “trap” since there is no legal right to reduce working time and/or increase it back to full-time work and, more generally, to adapt working time flexibly to different stages of life. A life-phase-oriented concept of working time and place of work, on the other hand, enables a partnership-based acquisition and care arrangement for all people in the same way. Appropriate working time concepts can bring about changes in company working time routines and help to reduce discrimination against parttime workers. However, the Commission of Experts also warns against the dangers of demarcation, overburdening and overburdening that can be associated with mobile work. Flexible working models must therefore be accompanied by protective measures. In addition, the Commission proposes the introduction of a “family allowance”, a flat-rate benefit of up to 24 months, allowing both parents to work on a reduced full-time basis on parental leave within a certain working-time corridor close to full-time. The unequal distribution of opportunities and risks in the course of life due to the gender stereotyping of occupations and activities is also addressed. Many opportunities and risks are statistically closely linked to the choice of profession and the profession learned. This is reflected, among other things, in lower salaries, poorer independent hedging and low shares in management positions. Therefore, a gender-sensitive, diversity- and intercultural-competent career guidance is required.

Care work is a key issue for gender equality. Accordingly, the upgrading of work-based care work is an important concern for equality policy. Formal care work, such as in the health and care or education sector, is often characterised by precarious employment with low wages and unwanted part-time work. It is often accompanied by strong health strains and there is a lack of opportunities for change and advancement. Instead of such “dead-end occupations”, the Commission of Experts calls for care work professions to become real “life occupations” in which employees can work well and develop in the long term. At the same time, society is dependent on qualified and high-quality care work. According to the experts, the education and training system should also correspond to this.

The framework conditions and infrastructure for care work are dealt with in two further chapters: child care and care for persons in need of care. The findings of the expert commission are that there is still a clear need for improvement in the care infrastructure of day care centres and all-day schools. In order to increase the participation of fathers in unpaid care work for young children, the Commission is proposing the introduction of a two-week “paternity leave” to be taken within the first 30 days of the birth of a child, along the lines of other European countries. Secondly, in the longer term, the Commission recommends a redistribution of parental benefit entitlement by extending the number of partner months. Beyond parental leave, there is a need for more flexible opportunities to be there for children (e.g. doctor visits, school enrolments, school parties, etc.). The introduction of a flexible time-budget of 120 days for each child for the duration of the minor’s age, coupled with a real replacement benefit equivalent to the parental allowance, would enable parents to care for their children without becoming financially or mentally strained. The Commission of Experts considers that the gender aspects of care infrastructures are still insufficiently taken into account in planning and financing. In order to provide gender-sensitive, diversity- and intercultural care, the necessary human and financial resources should be integrated into the regular funding of the institutions. The Commission recommends that the “Scandinavian path” be followed, with a higher proportion of public funding, in order to provide high-quality care infrastructure accessible to all. Professional support services should be significantly strengthened in order to allow for mixed care arrangements, characterised by an improved combination of the different elements tailored to the specific needs of caregivers and patients. In addition, the Commission of Experts proposes a flexible time budget financed from tax funds with compensatory allowances equivalent to the parental allowance of a total of 120 days for the care of relatives.

The chapter on the framework and infrastructure for private financial management deals with services related to the budget. Household-related services include specific services such as cleaning, cooking, washing and day-to-day organisation. On the other hand, they also include personal services such as day-to-day care and support for children and family members in need of care. Good work should be ensured both for the workers and for the households who use the services. For example, the introduction of certificates could help to develop uniform quality standards for household-related services and promote employment subject to social security and labour protection for domestic workers. Establishing a voucher system that could also reach middle- and low-income households and strengthen small and medium-sized service enterprises should open up routes out of irregular employment and increase demand for regular household-related services.

Re-entry into working life is another part of the recommendations of the report. Strengthening and expanding the right to return after family-related breaks, including appropriate employer support, are of key importance for successful reintegration. Many new entrants need further education and training after a long interruption in order to get back to the current technical and technical state of their job or profession. A legal right to support further vocational training or the reintroduction of alimony is therefore to be welcomed.

The existing incentives for the sharing of resources and work in marriage and registered partnerships are another chapter. In this report, the Committee of Experts recommends that wage tax class V be abolished. Spousal splitting is also to be further developed into a “real splitting” in order to limit the splitting advantage upwards. As a further measure, it is proposed to extend access to statutory health and long-term care insurance to long-term couples with care obligations. At the same time, non-working spouses and registered life partners who are previously insured without contributions should be limited to periods of intensive care work. The Commission of Experts considers mini-jobs to be unsuitable for independent economic security and the establishment of independent pension rights. Therefore, it recommends taxing them like other income: Persons with low employment would then be regularly insured for sickness, nursing care and unemployment benefits. At the same time, the basic tax allowance kept low incomes – even those in the amount of mini-jobs – tax-free. Income taxation and social security obligations for mini-jobs would significantly reduce the differences between a mini-job and part-time dependent employment. This would make it more attractive to increase working hours and earn more of one’s own income.

In the section on pensions and pensions, the Committee of Experts recommends that statutory pension insurance be developed into a universal insurance with a minimum coverage objective. All citizens should contribute to the statutory pension insurance on all incomes, including self-employed persons who have not previously been subject to insurance. In this way, all citizens in Germany should have independent, subsistence-based rights to pension insurance in old age. At the same time, according to the expert commission, care work in pension insurance should be rewarded and lead to independent claims. Post-term social compensation for low pension entitlements is intended to ensure that the socio-cultural minimum is guaranteed in old age.

The final chapter deals with current challenges in gender equality policy, including the gender-oriented design of digital work, overcoming the power of partnership, flight, and strengthening structures and instruments for the implementation of gender equality.

More and more companies are offering services via digital platforms, which can drastically reduce the transaction costs of providing services. Self-employed individuals then provide the services they have received from the platform company. This business model transfers risks to the self-employed. They have to pay for their social security – sometimes under precarious working conditions. In addition to many other points in the field of digitization, the experts recommend better regulation of such platforms.

In order to overcome partner violence, the report recommends further preventive measures in schools and educational institutions, as well as targeted support measures for children who live or have lived in situations of domestic violence, as well as the continuation and intensification of continuous public relations work and campaigns against sexualised and domestic violence. Protection measures should also be further developed and financially supported.

With regard to the issue of refugees, the Expert Commission recommends, among other things, that measures for the protection of refugees from violence be strengthened and that the promotion and organization of the labour market integration of refugees be oriented towards equality.

In the final part of the opinion, the experts discuss what measures are needed to ensure equality. These include the introduction of an action plan on gender equality policy at federal level, the strengthening of equality-oriented legislative impact assessment, an equality-oriented and gender-sensitive budgeting policy, and the establishment of a transfer office to act as an interface between research and practice and to provide support to the administration.

The Third Gender Equality Report of the Federal Government[13] was adopted by the cabinet on 9 June 2021. The report consists of the report of the Expert Commission, the statement of the Federal Government and an assessment of the Second Gender Equality Report. The Third Gender Equality Report of the Federal Government deals with the question of what course decisions are needed to shape developments in the digital economy in such a way that women and men have equal opportunities for achievement. The report was handed over to Federal Minister for Equal Opportunities Franziska Giffey on 26 January 2021.[14] From April 2019 to January 2021, the Expert Commission worked independently and on an honorary basis on the preparation of the opinion for the Third Gender Equality Report. It was composed of the following 11 members:

• Aysel Yollu-Tok, University of Economics and Law Berlin
• Miriam Beblo, University of Hamburg
• Claude Draude, Scientific Centre for Information Technology Design (ITeG), University of Kassel
• Thomas Gegenhuber, Leuphana University of Lüneburg
• Stephan Höyng, Catholic University of Social Welfare Berlin
• Katja Nebe, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg
• Caroline Richter, Institute of Work and Qualification IAQ, University of Duisburg-Essen
• Hendrik Send, Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society (HIIG), Anhalt University of Applied Sciences, Bernburg
• Indra Spiecker gen. Döhmann, Goethe University Frankfurt am Main
• Timm Teubner, Einstein Center Digital Future, Technical University Berlin
• Stefan Ullrich, Wheat Tree Institute for the Networked Society

The Expert Commission consisted of experts who work and conduct research on gender equality issues in academia, but also in public life, in politics, associations and industry. Interdisciplinarity also exists with regard to the expertise provided by the Commission, which covers different fields of research and work, such as economics, informatics, pedagogy, law, business administration, sociology and industrial engineering. The Commission of Experts commissioned a number of in-depth expert reports[15] for the work on its report, which were published before the report was finalised. This expertise supports the Commission’s work in a variety of ways, for example by conducting its own empirical studies or by reviewing the state of knowledge in a particular field. In addition, the Commission of Experts has held a series of hearings for which documentation has been published online.[16] A “Office of the Third Gender Equality Report of the Federal Government” has been set up at the Institute for Social Work and Social Pedagogy e.V. to provide scientific and organizational support to the Expert Commission. The responsibilities of the secretariat included the substantive and organisational preparation and follow-up of Commission meetings as well as of forums and expert discussions. She was also responsible for awarding expert opinions on behalf of the Commission of Experts. It also assisted the Commission in the scientific preparation of the opinion and in the organisation of presentations. The secretariat will continue to be responsible for public relations and budget management.[17] In addition to working for the Expert Commission, the office supported the Federal Government in the assessment of the Second Gender Equality Report. The office, headed by Sebastian Scheele and Dr. Ulrike Spangenberg, is composed of an interdisciplinary team and reflects the interdisciplinary composition of the Commission.

Like the Expert Commission for the Second Report on Gender Equality, the Commission used the Amartya Sen concept of opportunities for achievement in its opinion on the Third Report on Gender Equality. are equally distributed.[18] At the heart of the approach is the idea of substantial equality of opportunity. The focus is on structural inequalities that can exist even under the same starting conditions. The approach aims to ensure that people have not only formal choices in life, but real choices.[19][20][21] Social transformation processes have an impact on people’s lives and the associated opportunities for realisation. In order to ensure equal access to them, the corresponding political, economic and social framework conditions must be adapted to digitalisation in the course of social transformations.

The Commission of Experts took a socio-technical perspective to analyse the interlinkages between digital transformation and gender relations[22]. The approach is based on the basic assumption that technological developments are not neutral, but are shaped by social conditions. At the same time, they have an impact on society. In the analysis, the spheres of the technical and social worlds, which are often considered separately from each other, are thus taken into consideration together. The socio-technical approach therefore always considers and assesses automated processes and data-based decisions of people in their social context and thus enables different fields of digital transformation to be seen and shaped in their interconnections. In order to make digitalisation gender-sensitive, the design of technologies and their impact assessment must therefore also take into account social, economic and environmental aspects.

Digitalization refers to a comprehensive social transformation process, which today is characterized above all by its data drive. This process goes hand in hand with the world being prepared in a specific, computer-readable way, in order to be incorporated into algorithmic systems. Data-driven digitization enables a fast, simple and inexpensive linking of a wide variety of information from a wide variety of sources. It allows new statements about individuals and about the groups to which they are assigned; these statements are used for decisions of all kinds. The process of machine calculation, which is behind many decision outputs, obscures the human-made nature of these processes. Data-driven, mathematical translation of the world today influences all spheres of life, it influences how the world of work is organised, which occupations are expanded, which are disappearing and who is working in them, it offers new opportunities for job search or even recruitment with certain risks, it creates new skills needs and influences our communication and the development of new skills. Interests, to name just a few examples.

Digitalisation is a window of opportunity for gender equality, but it also brings with it new risks. In the course of profound transformations, such as digitalization, power relations can be renegotiated in order to work towards the dismantling of gender-related barriers that stand in the way of the realization of equal opportunities. Key barriers are structural disadvantages, gender stereotypes and gender-based violence. In order to harness the potential of digitisation for positive development, it is necessary to ensure equal access to relevant resources and skills, to remove structural barriers to the gender-sensitive use of digital technology and to ensure the gender-sensitive design of technology.

Access to digital technologies influences the opportunities available to people to participate in the labour market, to cultivate social relationships and to participate politically. At present, there are clear gender barriers. Access includes, on the one hand, physical equipment and digital skills, on the other, time sovereignty (the distribution of work and private life in a self-determined way), spatial sovereignty (the need-based ability to relocate the place of work) and informational self-determination (the ability and ability to give informed consent or refusal to process one’s own data).

If access to digital technologies is to be used in a gender-sensitive manner, other structural barriers, gender stereotypes and risks of discrimination need to be taken into account. Consideration should be given to: gender pay gaps, work culture and access to funding in the digital sector, the awarding of contracts and the influence of stereotypes in platform work, gender-equitable access to digitisation-related training in companies or the unevenly distributed risks of digital violence on the Internet. The use of digital technologies in the work environment to enable the home office may bring new opportunities for reconciliation and promote a fairer distribution of care work, but it also carries the risk of demarcation. Whether resources can be used to realise realisation opportunities therefore depends on how these opportunities are designed.

Opportunities to participate in technology design vary according to gender, partly because women face structural barriers when they want to work in the digital sector. However, the design process of technologies itself is also gendered. Technology development is generally understood and taught as value-neutral and as decoupled from social processes, to which the socio-technical perspective points critically[23]. The socio-technical perspective in the design of technologies is essential to work towards more gender-equitable outcomes. In addition, work cultures and the organisation of work in the digital sector itself need to be looked at, as this can also reflect gender and stereotypes.

The Commission of Experts formulated ten objectives as a normative compass for its opinion:

• gender-sensitive technology development and design
• gender-independent access to digitisation-related skills
• gender-independent access to digitisation-related resources (digital technologies, time and spatial sovereignty, and informational self-determination)
• independent economic and social security through equal integration into the digitalised economy
• Equal pay for equal work in the digital economy
• Dissolving gender stereotypes in the context of digitalisation
• gender-equitable distribution of unpaid care work in the context of digitisation
• Reconciling gainful employment, caring for others and self-care in the context of digitalisation
• Reduce discrimination and protection against gender-based violence in analogue and digital spaces
• Gender-equitable shaping power of the digital transformation in the economy, politics, administration and society

The analyses and recommendations for action relate to different areas of digitization. The expert commission structured the nearly 200-page expert report along an “onion model”: from the digital sector as a driver of digitization inside the onion, to the digital economy – for example, the platform economy – and the digitalized economy, to the external onion layer of the digitalization of society, in which phenomena such as social media and gender-related digital Violence. In addition, there is a look at gender equality policy structures and instruments as “breeding ground” for an equality-oriented design of digitization in the individual layers of onion.

Inside the onion lies the digital sector, often referred to as information and communication technology. Digital technologies are produced here, i.e. goods such as computer hardware and software and network infrastructure. The digital sector is still dominated by men. More than 80 percent of the workforce are men (an average of 17 percent women). Women rarely move up into (top) management and leave the industry much more often than men. The proportion of women starting up in the digital sector is also low. The Commission of Experts therefore recommends, inter alia, that:to reduce barriers to access. To achieve this, the working culture needs to become more open. It is not the women that need to change, but the companies (“fix the company” instead of “fix the women”). Start-up programmes must be evaluated and designed to benefit all. The Commission of Experts also recommends, inter alia, that:to integrate diverse perspectives into the development of digital technology in order to do justice to a diverse society. Methods for gender-sensitive and non-discriminatory IT systems need to be standardised, standardised and systematically implemented for practical application.

The digital economy encompasses the activities and business models that have only been made possible by the technologies produced in the digital sector, such as the platform economy, which is accompanied by new forms of work. Examples are online bookable driving or food delivery services or online-sourced microjobs, such as writing texts. Platform work offers – from the point of view of the employees – several advantages: The work can be done flexibly in time and is often not tied to a specific location. In this way, it potentially facilitates the reconciliation of paid work and care work, e.g. when returning to work. The report also points to problems with platform work. For example, workers are usually classified as self-employed rather than employed. As a result, they often lack social protection. The precarious situation of the platform workers also exacerbates risks such as low income, experiences of violence and sexual harassment. In addition, they do not receive a work certificate. The Commission of Experts therefore recommends, inter alia, that:to regulate the social protection of platform workers and to provide them with better protection against discrimination. They must also be able to use the professional skills they have acquired on platforms to apply for offline jobs. To do this, these competences must be proven.

The digitalised economy encompasses all economic activities that use and change information and communication technologies. Examples are digital warehouse management, self-service cash registers in supermarkets or electronic documentation systems in care. The digitalisation of the labour market can be an opportunity to achieve gender-independent opportunities for all. The Commission of Experts therefore recommends, among other things, that digitisation-related skills, which are already available and used, should be made visible in the different occupations. In addition, competences perceived as “feminine” (such as psychosocial demands) need to be adequately considered and rewarded. In order to cope with the increasingly digitalised society and to be able to actively shape it, people need more digitalisation-related competences. These include, for example, the ability to search for information on the Internet and to find out about their seriousness and faith knowledge of communication, cooperation and the functioning of political participation via digital channels, the production of digital audio and video formats, a fundamental understanding of the functioning, programming and limitations of information technology systems and the rules of data and personal protection. This applies to all levels of education and throughout the life cycle, from early childhood education to continuing education. Furthermore, the National Continuing Education Strategy should be expanded to include gender equality objectives. New methods, such as the use of algorithms in staff selection, are associated with significant risks of discrimination. The functioning of systems that are supposed to support personnel decisions is difficult to verify: For example, what criteria decide when a system automatically screws out an application or which people are targeted at job advertisements on social media? The Commission of Experts therefore recommends, inter alia, that:to include the use of algorithmic systems in personnel decisions in the list of operations for which a data protection impact assessment is mandatory. In the case of automated systems, transparency must be ensured and full automation must be prohibited. Opportunities, but also risks, of mobile work must be considered in a differentiated way. Reducing the boundaries between employment and care work must not exacerbate existing gender inequalities. The Commission of Experts therefore recommends regulating, inter alia, the following aspects of mobile work: legal entitlement, voluntary work, occupational health and safety, data protection, protection against discrimination, workplace equipment, accident insurance and tax deductibility.

With the digitization of society, the Expert Commission is expanding its view beyond the economy, as digital technologies permeate the entire life of society. Social media is a relatively new, fast-growing and yet little researched phenomenon. They do not represent the real diversity of people, but mostly convey gender stereotypes. The expert commission therefore recommends, among other things, strengthening diverse gender portrayals in social media. To this end, it is important to promote role models and positive examples, to change production cultures and to expand media literacy. Gender-related digital violence occurs in all areas of society and goes far beyond violence in social media. Many forms and instruments of gender-based violence have only become possible with digitalisation. Here, for example, you can think of stalking apps. It is therefore possible to speak of a new quality of violence, which brings with it new challenges. The Commission of Experts therefore recommends, inter alia, that:to improve protection against and assistance in the event of gender-based digital violence. To achieve this, gaps in knowledge interfaces need to be filled, including in specialist advice centres, but also in the police, courts, law enforcement authorities and the administration. Fundamental data protection and communication rights aim to ensure that all people, regardless of gender, can participate equally in society. The use of personal data must not lead to (gender-based) discrimination. The State is obliged to protect against discrimination by private individuals. The Commission of Experts therefore recommends, inter alia, safeguarding the foundations of democratic, free and non-discriminatory opportunities for implementation. To achieve this, data protection, privacy, informational self-determination and IT security must be valued and enforced.

Gender equality structures and instruments provide a framework for the effective implementation of equal opportunities. This also applies in the context of digitization. In this sense, they are the “nourishing ground” that provides the “onion” for a gender-appropriate design of digitalization. The digital transformation process has an impact on people’s lives, and issues of existing gender inequalities arise in a new and different way. Promoting the chances of fulfilment of all people in this process is an urgent and challenging task. Existing gender equality instruments and structures must therefore be used effectively and adapted where necessary. These include: interdepartmental strategies, gender budgeting or equality-oriented legal and technical impact assessments, as well as institutions that support the transfer of knowledge on equality. The Commission of Experts therefore recommends, inter alia, that:: Gender equality and digitalisation should be more closely linked and integrated from a strategic perspective (e.g. in the cross-departmental gender equality strategy or the digital strategy). The digitisation-related expenditure in the 2021 federal budget should be analysed as part of a gender budgeting analysis and the findings should be consistently implemented. Gender impact assessment should be strengthened and made more binding. In the context of digitization, a gender-competent technology assessment is gaining in importance. The future Federal Foundation for Equality should have a working area for digitization as well as staff and resources appropriate to its tasks.

The 2005 commented data report on equality between women and men in the Federal Republic of Germany compiled, analysed and interpreted existing data on the social situation and lifestyle of women and men. The Gender Data Report was based on the concept of the WSI-FrauenDatenReport published in 2000 and 2005, which also analysed the development of the situation of women and men in different spheres of life on the basis of data from official statistics, paying particular attention to the comparison of West and East Germany (2000) as well as to the European Comparison (2005).

The Federal Councils Occupation Act aims to create or maintain the equal participation of women and men in committees. According to § 9 of the Federal Act on the Occupation of Bodies, the Federal Government submits a report to the German Bundestag in each legislative period on the proportion of women in essential bodies of the Federal Government and on the posting of women by the Federal Government to essential bodies outside the Federal Government. The First Panel Report was published in 1991. The Fifth Panel Report was submitted to the German Bundestag and published on 16 December 2010.

The Federal Government’s experience report on the Federal Equal Opportunities Act (BGleiG) is based on the provisions of the Federal Equal Opportunities Act, which entered into force on 5 December 2001. The objectives of the BGleiG are the equality of women and men in the federal administration and the improvement of the compatibility of family and work. According to § 25 BGleiG, the Federal Government submits to the German Bundestag every four years an experience report on the situation of women in relation to that of men within the scope of the BGleiG and reports on the application of the law. The first experience report was submitted in 2006. The Second Experience Report was presented to the German Bundestag and published on 16 December 2010.

The First Atlas on Equality between Women and Men in Germany was published by the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs in September 2009. The 17th GFMK had decided on 31 May 2007 to introduce a uniform system of indicators in order to monitor the status and developments of equal opportunities policy. The atlas provides a comprehensive and vivid overview of the differences between the Länder in implementing important gender equality policy objectives and in creating a framework conducive to gender equality. For the first time, it compiles data and statistics on indicators such as seats in state parliaments, university or junior professorships or part-time employment in Germany and maps and tables the level of equal opportunities achieved. The 30 indicators included in the atlas are grouped into four categories: participation, education and training, work and income, and living environment.

• Berlin: In 2009, the Senate Department for Economics, Technology and Women and the Berlin-Brandenburg Statistical Office published the first Gender Data Report for Berlin. The report provides the most important basic data on the situation of women and men in Berlin. The Gender Data Report Berlin 2010 was updated.
• Lower Saxony: In 2010, based on the indicator system of the Federal Equality Atlas, Lower Saxony created an atlas on equality between women and men in Lower Saxony. As far as possible, the indicators contained in the nationwide atlas were broken down to Lower Saxony, its districts, towns and the city and region of Hanover.

At the request of the European Council, the European Commission draws up an annual progress report on gender equality and presents future challenges and priorities. This publication provides an overview of current developments in the situation of women and men in the EU and provides important data and policy information. The 2010 report focuses in particular on the short- and long-term challenges of gender equality in the context of the economic crisis. Problems relating to work-life balance, poverty and social inclusion, and violence against women are also addressed.

Since 2013, the European Institute for Gender Equality has published the Gender Equality Index. It aims to make gender equality measurable and comparable in the EU Member States. It takes into account the respective framework conditions for achieving gender equality in the EU Member States and measures gender equality achieved in the areas of work, money, knowledge, time, power and health. In 2017, the Third Gender Equality Index Report was published.[24] It is based on data from 2005, 2010, 2012 and 2015.

Every four years, the Federal Government, led by the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth, prepares a state report on gender equality in Germany. The CEDAW State Report provides an overview of the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in national equality policy. CEDAW was adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 18 December 1979 and is an essential step towards the recognition of women’s rights as human rights. In addition, non-governmental organisations prepare independent alternative or shadow reports.

The Global Gender Gap Report is a report on equality between women and men produced annually by the World Economic Forum on the basis of selected indicators since 2005. Iceland led the list of countries surveyed in 2010 and 2011. Germany rose from 13th to 11th place in that time.