German mothers face countless hurdles to get back to work • FRANCE 24 English

German mothers face countless hurdles to get back to work • FRANCE 24 English

[Music] since her little boy Falco was born Margo Arabian has been fitting her life around her son living in Berlin since 2017 she runs an upmarket restaurant with her husband a few weeks after giv birth she returned to work however nurseries for babies under a year old are very rare in Germany this is where I spent a lot of time with Falco when he was Tiny still in his crib he was lying here and I was cooking there a few months ago she finally found a nursery where Falco cared for from 9 to 230 she has adapted a corner of the restaurant for Falco to play in and she juggles cooking and caring for her son it’s not easy to be a working mother in Germany I can do this here because I’m self employed and in my restaurant I’m the boss but I imagine that for others not in this situation it may be more complicated returning to work after giving birth is a real battle in theory since 2013 each child older than 12 months is guaranteed a nursery place whether it’s in the public or private sector the costs are the same for the parents but there Still Remains a shortage of 430,000 places in Nursery School this Franco German daycare center located in a popular part of Berlin can accommodate just 30 children and the waiting list is very long the difficulties of finding Child Care meant I was out of work for 2 years until I got a spot here for some mothers the maternity break lasts longer than expected such things can be expected due to a lack of Staff in the child care sector according to this teacher I always warn those interested in teaching very young children that we don’t earn much it is really more like charity work because we are not paid as we should be early child care jobs have become less appealing last year the sector was shaken by historic strikes work has finally got significant pay increases still the challenge remains in some densely populated parts of Western Germany the lack of available Nursery places is acute and by 2025 there will be a shortage of nearly 114,000 qualified staff across Germany according to the berlman foundation currently there are some 11,000 trainees in Germany but we need many more and above all we must retain them many people leave a child care sector to take less stressful jobs in schools or elsewhere to overcome shortages more and more companies are opening nurseries and kindergartens on their own premises and new business models are appearing on the market this co-working space in Berlin opened in 2016 we have three rooms one is completely silent another where we can chat and take part in video conferences and one where you can read and write syvia Stewart has created this space where parents can work while their children are looked after for a few hours noem and his mother spend about 4 hours a day here three times a week for me it’s so much easier I can work in peace while my little one is taken care of and I don’t have to wait until the evening or night when he’s in bed to work but it’s not affordable for everyone babysitting costs € 15 an hour on top of renting the workplace we get a lot of requests from parents from foreign countries who are used to far better child care in their countries some people arrive here and want to start working immediately but they realize that’s impossible because they can’t find a nursery for them we’re the only [Music] Lifeline while 98% of fathers work full-time only 70% of German mothers return to work after having a child and most only part-time these mothers have disrupted careers or perpetuate the stay-at-home model because of difficulties with child care says this expert when a baby arrives we notice that even among couples who agreed on being equal with the father just as involved in child care and the mother who wants to return to full-time work the daily challenges parents face in Germany reinforce the traditional parent Styles people want equality but reality dictates tradition a reality that deprives the German Market of skills it desperately needs if Child Care met demand more than 800,000 new mothers could return to work

Women make up nearly half the active population in Germany, but the arrival of a baby completely changes their position in the labour market. More than 70 percent of mothers of children under the age of six work part time. Mothers – particularly in the west of Germany – are still encouraged to stay at home for a few years after giving birth, but a mediocre childcare system also plays a part. The lack of nursery places is glaring, with more than 400,000 children on waiting lists. In response, the state is investing billions and even guarantees childcare places for all children up to the age of 10. But the problem persists. Our correspondents report.
#Germany #employment #childcare

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