Gleichstellung von Frauen in der Wirtschaft (Equal Rights for Professional Women)

This federal initiative was developed in 2007 by the Federal Ministry for Labour and Social Affairs, the Federal Confederation of Employers' Associations and the German Confederation of Trade Unions. It aims at changing the pronounced gender-specific differences in working time, earnings, distribution of leadership positions, vocational choices, etc. in Germany. Equal Rights for Professional Women supports projects conducted by enterprises, educational institutions, associations and research institutions that support women in securing their own livelihood, contribute to equal opportunities with respect to promotion and career, contribute to an increased participation in corporate further training, to a reduction of wage differences as well as a better work-life balance for women. An innovative aspect of the initiative is that it concerns women both on the personal-individual level (projects to promote individual career orientation/readiness via coaching, further trainings, mentoring programmes) and on the structural level of a sustainable change in corporate structures, processes and cultures so that equal opportunities and career for women are accepted as a matter of course and receive active support (projects for flexible working conditions, workshops to increase gender competences of (male) executives, more gender-fairness in processes of personnel selection). From 2010 to 2013, 118 projects were granted, supporting a total of 11.700 women. In all, more than 5.000 enterprises are involved in the projects (funding volume: 54 million Euro).