Most parents of young children would like to be able to share the responsibilities of work and family life more equally. However, the traditional division of work and family responsibilities does not meet the ideas and wishes of young parents. Furthermore, it leads to significant financial disadvantages for mothers in the long run although the majority of them wants to be financially independent. For this reason, family policies aim at supporting a more equal sharing of work and family responsibilities, for example by providing an appropriate incentive through family benefits such as the parental allowance scheme.
The introduction of parental allowance plus (ElterngeldPlus) in 2015 marked an important milestone in implementing this new policy approach. The scheme has made it possible for parents to share parental leave more equally and to combine it more easily with part-time work. It encourages and supports mothers and fathers to spend time with their children when they are still little and at the same time allows them to pursue their careers. This benefits all of society.
The availability of a reliable infrastructure and financial security are key prerequisites for all of this. That's why the Federal Government is committed to ensuring that all children, regardless of their background, receive the same development opportunities and the same access to education. High-quality, needs-based childcare also promotes better compatibility of family and working life, which in turn benefits German industry and businesses.
Facilitating a family-friendly working world
To better meet the needs of families, the Ministry cooperates closely with strong, reliable partners from industry and business, trade unions, municipal stakeholders and associations. Family-friendly working conditions are a fundamental prerequisite for a good work-life balance. Employers have recognised and acknowledged that fathers would also like to have opportunities to balance their work and family commitments.
The company programme "Success Factor Family" ("Erfolgsfaktor Familie") is a centralised information platform which focuses on the topic of a family-friendly working world. As a programme for businesses and industry, it consolidates information on family-friendly human resources policies. The programme's network comprises about 9,000 businesses and institutions.
Across the country, about 300 "Local Alliances for Families" (Lokale Bündnisse für Familie) provide strong, partnership-based networks of stakeholders from industry and business, local administrations, associations and civil society. The aim is to provide needs-based services to help local families to better reconcile family and working life.