Legislative and policy framework

German constitutional law enshrines equality between women and men, and expresses a federal commitment to an active and effective gender equality policy. Article 3(2) of the Foundational Law or Basic Law (Grundgesetz) of 1949 stresses that ‘(1) all humans are equal before the law; and (2) men and women are equal in rights. The state promotes the actual enforcement of equality between men and women and works towards the elimination of existing disadvantages; (3) no one may be privileged or disadvantaged based on sex, origin, ethnicity, language, heritage, belief, religious or political belief. No one may be disadvantaged based on their disability’.[1] The Grundgesetz was extended to the reunified state in 1990. The mandate to ensure gender equality under the constitution was reinforced by the following addition in 1994: ‘The state promotes the effective implementation of equal rights for women and men and works to eliminate existing disadvantages’.

In addition to the foundational Grundgesetz, the principle of gender equality is enshrined in other laws, with several federal laws concerning aspects of gender equality across economic sectors having recently been adopted. Recent laws on gender equality in the labour market and public administration include a federal law on pay transparency (Entgelttransparenzgesetz), and a law to increase the share of women in leadership positions (Zweites Führungspositionen-Gesetz – FüPoG II).

In the cabinet resolution of 23 June 1999, the federal government recognised the importance of gender equality as a guiding principle for its activities, and adopted gender mainstreaming as a joint goal in the operation of all federal ministries. This goal was legally consolidated through the 2000 Joint Rules of Procedure of the Federal Ministries (Gemeinsame Geschäftsordnung der Bundesministerien – GGO), which states that ‘Equality between men and women is a consistent guiding principle and should be promoted by all political, legislative and administrative actions of the federal ministries in their respective areas (gender mainstreaming)’, and requires all federal ministries to ‘promote equality between women and men as a pervasive guiding principle in all their normative actions’.[2] Therefore, gender equality should be ensured, secured and promoted in all of the government’s political, administrative and agenda-setting measures (federal and regional).

Germany’s first (2011), second (2017) and third (2021) Gender Equality Reports (Gleichstellungsberichte) further underline gender mainstreaming as an important tool for gender equality – but also highlight ongoing challenges concerning leadership and the cross-sectoral implementation of gender equality. In the 2018 coalition treaty, the then federal government sought to respond to these challenges by creating a ‘cross-sectoral equality strategy’ for all policy areas and a ‘gender equality action plan’.[3] However, no overarching national action plan was produced.

Goals of the federal equality strategy (Gleichstellungsstrategie)

  • Goal 1: Ensuring economic independence for everyone.
  • Goal 2: Establishing care professions as attractive career paths.
  • Goal 3: Setting standards for the digital world.
  • Goal 4: Making paid work and unpaid care work reconcilable.
  • Goal 5: Bringing more women into economic leadership positions.
  • Goal 6: Establishing equal participation in democracy.
  • Goal 7: Eliminating stereotypes in culture and science.
  • Goal 8: Strengthening gender equality in public administration.
  • Goal 9: Making gender equality a task for the entire government.

The strategy has indicators that are monitored at least once per legislative period (every four years), but many indicators are monitored more frequently, such as the gender pay gap, women’s employment rates and women’s participation in STEM fields. This overarching strategy is accompanied by sector-specific action plans and initiatives.

Structures

Governmental gender equality body

The main governmental equality body is the Division for Gender Equality (Abteilung ‘Gleichstellung’) within the Ministry of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (Bundesministerium für Familien, Senioren, Frauen und Jugend – BMFSFJ). [4]

Functions of the Division for Gender Equality

  • Drafting gender equality policy for the government.
  • Monitoring progress using tools such as the Gender Equality Report (Gleichstellungsbericht)[5] and Gender Equality Atlas (Gleichstellungsatlas).[6]
  • Conducting research on gender equality issues.
  • Promoting public awareness and training.
  • Integrating gender equality into Germany’s EU and international affairs.

The division has 103 staff members, and its total annual expenditure in 2023 was EUR 71 578 000. The division is consulted in fewer than 25 % of cases of day-to-day policymaking. This is because, in Germany, all federal ministries and associated bodies are to undertake gender mainstreaming as a commitment. In theory, this whole-of-government approach drastically reduces the need for bilateral consultations.

At the interministerial level, there is no formal consultation mechanism. However, the BMFSFJ is involved in legislative processes on an ad hoc basis, ‘to examine whether significant effects in terms of equality policy are to be expected’ (Annex 6 to Section 46, paragraph 1 of the GGO) in draft legislative proposals. Additionally, the ministry has informal contact points (e.g. civil servants in other ministries, independent experts) who may be consulted depending on the issue. More than 75 % of ministries are included in this collaborative structure.

The division reports on its activities through its involvement in the Gender Equality Report of the Federal Government (Gleichstellungsbericht der Bundesregierung),[7] which is submitted to the parliament once per legislative period (every four years). Other parliamentary reports may be produced, but not necessarily with the same regularity (e.g. ad hoc reports on gender equality in a specific sector). Additionally, the division may be consulted regarding other governmental reports and legal advice.

In 2021, in line with promises made in the 2018 coalition treaty, Germany established the Federal Foundation for Gender Equality (Bundesstiftung Gleichstellung). The foundation aims to enhance knowledge, foster action and drive innovation in gender equality policies by scientifically examining and promoting the participation of women in areas such as society, politics, science and the economy.[8] This initiative supports evidence-based policymaking in gender equality, reinforcing Germany’s commitment to advancing gender equity.

Germany’s European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) programmes emphasise gender mainstreaming as a transversal priority across projects. The 2014–2020 programme focused on gender equality, anti-discrimination and ecological sustainability. In 2015, the Agency for Horizontal Objectives was established to support these goals. The current 2021–2027 ESF+ programme continues to prioritise gender equality, promoting balanced labour market participation, equal working conditions and better work–life balance, including access to affordable childcare.[vi]

Independent gender equality body

The Federal Anti-discrimination Agency (Antidiskriminierungsstelle des Bundes – ADS) is the independent equality body for Germany.

Gender-related functions of the Federal Anti-discrimination Agency

  • Collecting data and conducting research on gender equality issues.
  • Integrating gender equality considerations in EU, international and national affairs.
  • Publishing and disseminating gender-equality-related information.
  • Conducting training.
  • Providing legal support for victims of discrimination on the grounds of sex or gender.

The ADS total annual expenditure for 2023 was EUR 13 395 000, with approximately 21 % of this dedicated towards personnel expenses. The ADS has 45 staff, who work on six different protection grounds, including gender and gender identity, sexual identity, ethnic origin and disability – with up to approximately 25 % of time spent on projects specifically focused on gender equality.

In the development of legislative processes or programme implementation, the ADS is consulted in 25–50 % of cases concerning the federal administration, a higher rate than the Division for Gender Equality in the BMFSFJ, with 25–50 % of these consultations leading to relevant adjustments.

As there is no obligation to involve the ADS in drafting policies, laws or programmes, the government consults the ADS only on a case-by-case basis. Its mandate on gender equality is limited to the scope of the equality directives and does not encompass other aspects, such as gender-based violence or hate crime.

Parliamentary bodies

In the Bundestag (the lower house of Germany’s federal parliament), there are 24 permanent committees that prepare legislative proposals for adoption in the plenary, on areas such as family policies, children and youth, family and work, and the promotion of gender equality.[10]

In the Bundesrat (the upper house of Germany’s federal parliament), legislative proposals that have passed three readings in the Bundestag must be submitted to the Committee on Women and Youth (Ausschuss für Frauen und Jugend des Bundesrates).

The committee, representing all 16 federal regions, deals with draft acts/laws (bills) in the areas of equality, children and youth, and the civil service. The committee is responsible for proposals submitted by the federal government to the Bundesrat under the auspices of the BMFSFJ, and for submissions drawn up by the respective state/regional (Länder) ministries. In addition to national regulatory proposals for legislation and regulations, the committee deals with a large number of EU projects within the framework of community competence for these issues.

Regional structure

As an EU Member State with a decentralised governance structure, Germany’s BMFSFJ implements the federal government’s overarching equality strategy with the support of the federal regions (Bundesländer). The 16 federal regions have their regional equality strategies, which are passed by the regional parliaments and implemented by the regional administrations in conjunction with regional civil society stakeholders.

Representatives from the regions regularly meet at the Conference of Ministers and Senators for Gender Equality and Women’s Affairs of the Länder (Konferenz der Gleichstellungs- und Frauenministerinnen und -minister, -senatorinnen und -senatoren der Länder). The conference’s main objective is to ensure commonalities in gender equality policy for women at the regional (Länderebene) and national levels. It adopts measures for equal opportunity policy/strategy for women and men in all areas of life, and accompanies the legislative processes at the federal level.

Each of the 16 federal states has its own state equality laws (Landesgleichstellungsgesetze) from the 1990s, regulating equal treatment of women and men in the public service.

Germany also has official and volunteer commissioners in the municipalities, who are tasked with meeting the equality requirements of the Grundgesetz (Article 3, paragraph 2). They do this through, for example, proposals to address the discriminatory structural barriers that women face inside and outside the administration.

According to the provisions of the equal rights laws and the equality laws of the federal states, equality commissioners, women’s representatives or equal opportunities officers are appointed or elected as full-time, part-time or honorary representatives. They are usually responsible for promoting women’s affairs and women’s participation in equal opportunities measures, and monitoring and initiating work–life balance proposals.

At the local level, the Federal Association of Municipal Women’s Offices and Equality Bodies (Bundesarbeitsgemeinschaft der kommunalen Frauenbüros und Gleichstellungsstellen) is composed of 1 900 municipal women’s and equal opportunities offices, most of which are linked to municipal administrations. The association’s main tasks are networking, lobbying and creating an open alliance of women in political decision-making to expand the influence of women in national politics.

Consultation with civil society

Under the GGO,[11] there is a formal requirement to consult experts and civil society stakeholders during the legislative process. The Federal Foundation for Gender Equality, set up by the Act for Establishing the Federal Foundation for Equality (Gesetz zur Errichtung einer Bundesstiftung Gleichstellung),[12] provides a platform for regular exchanges with civil society on gender equality policy. Additionally, the Division for Gender Equality of the BMFSFJ offers institutional support and project funding to encourage collaboration with civil society organisations.

The Division for Gender Equality has distributed funds to civil service organisations in the last five years; however, there is no official list of the funds allocated or the names of the recipients.

Methods and tools

Note: the methods and tools listed under this section were the focus of EIGE’s 2024 assessment. If certain methods and tools are not mentioned in this section, this does not necessarily mean that they are not used at all by Germany.

Gender impact assessment

Germany uses several methods and tools to implement gender mainstreaming, including ex-ante impact assessments to analyse the gender impact of proposed legislation, gender budgeting and gender-sensitive language. The extent to which these actions are implemented, however, cannot be assessed with certainty, as some practices fall under the discretion of the ministries, and comprehensive data is not available for the whole administration.

The legal obligation to undertake an ex ante gender impact assessment is enshrined in the GGO (Section 2 and Section 44, paragraph 1). Here, civil servants and policymakers are required to assess the ‘predicted, intentional and unintentional effects’ of new policies, ‘especially the long-term effects’ in the name of sustainability. This kind of ex ante impact assessment includes the effects of planned policies on gender equality.

Gender budgeting

While there is no explicit legal obligation to undertake gender budgeting, gender mainstreaming is enshrined as a universal guiding principle in the GGO. In this regard, Chapter 1, Section 2 states that ‘The equal standing of men and women is a transversal guiding principle which should be promoted in all political, legal and administrative actions of the Federal Ministries in their respective competence areas’.[13] Based on interpretation of this commitment, some line ministries use gender budgeting in ministerial budgets.

Training and awareness raising

Gender equality training is available on an ad hoc basis for employees in some ministries, including the Division for Gender Equality. However, it is not a requirement for the staff at the highest political level, such as ministers or senior cabinet members.

Gender statistics

There is no legal obligation for the Federal Statistical Office of Germany (FSO) to collect data disaggregated by sex. However, there are various legal obligations on other public institutions to collect sex-disaggregated data, such as:

the Federal Equality Act, 2015,[14]

the Micro-census Law, 2016,[15]

the Population Statistics Law, 2013,[16]

the Census Preparation Act, 2021.[17]

In 2018, an independent opinion from the ADS led to an amendment to German civil status law, changing the way that ‘sex’ is recorded. This gave intersex people in Germany the option to select ‘diverse’, rather than ‘male’ or ‘female’, as their sex on civil documents.[18]

To report gender statistics, the FSO introduced a specific web page on gender indicators in 2023, which acts as a central point of access within the FSO for several indicators that are disaggregated by sex.[19] Additionally, the BMFSFJ publishes the Gender Equality Atlas in cooperation with the FSO,[20] which uses 41 indicators to continuously provide a comprehensive overview of the regional differences in equality between women and men in Germany. Both the FSO web page for gender equality indictors and the online Gender Equality Atlas include the thematic breakdown of the statistics it covers, including data visualisations, direct access to relevant datasets that can be viewed online and downloaded, and direct access to relevant publications. In addition, on the national website for disseminating the UN sustainable development goals, the FSO regularly publishes national data on the indicators of goal 5, ‘Gender equality’.

Monitoring progress

Germany's institutional mechanisms for gender equality and gender mainstreaming stand above the EU average, showing progress since 2021.

Explore Germany's scores on the four key indicators on institutional mechanisms for the promotion of gender equality and gender mainstreaming developed to monitor progress on Area H of the Beijing Platform for Action.  

Germany: Institutional mechanisms for gender equality and gender mainstreaming

References