Jump to
Record employment and part-time work – major differences between the sexes
Both the employment rate and the proportion of people working part-time reached new highs in Germany in 2024.
More and more people in Germany are in employment. However, the proportion of people working part-time is also increasing. Women are particularly affected, especially mothers. In contrast, part-time work is still the exception for men.
More people in work, gender gap slowly closing
According to the latest figures from the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), around 74% of women and 81% of men aged between 15 and 64 were in employment in 2024.
The employment rate reached a new high of 77% overall. Since 2005, the proportion of employed women has risen by around 15 percentage points (from just over 59% to 74%), while the increase for men was lower at just under ten percentage points (from 71% to 81%).
Part-time work reaches new records, women far more frequently affected
The rise in employment went hand in hand with an increase in part-time work. In 2024, almost a third of all people in employment in Germany worked part-time, 29% to be exact. The stark gender difference is particularly striking: women were more than four times as likely to work part-time than men. Almost half of all employed women (49%) worked part-time – by comparison, the proportion for men was twelve percent. These part-time rates mark new highs for both women and men. Since 2005, part-time rates have risen for both genders (women from 43% to 49%, men from 7% to 12%).
Employment of mothers increases significantly
Looking at parents of underage children, there were clear differences in employment by gender in 2024. While 92% of fathers with children under the age of 18 were in employment, this only applied to 71% of mothers. The differences were even more pronounced for parents with very young children under the age of three: 9 out of 10 fathers (89%) were in employment here, but only 4 out of 10 mothers (40%).
The proportion of working mothers has risen significantly over the last 20 years:
- Mothers with children under the age of 3: +12 percentage points
- Mothers with children under the age of 18: +11 percentage points
The rate for fathers increased only slightly:
- Fathers with children under the age of 3: +3 percentage points
- Fathers with children under the age of 18: +4 percentage points
Part-time work the rule for mothers
There is a clear gender difference in the proportion of parents working part-time.
The vast majority of working mothers with children under the age of 18 worked part-time (68%). For mothers with children under the age of three, the part-time rate was even higher at 73%. In contrast, part-time work was rare among working fathers: Only eight percent of fathers with children under the age of 18 and nine percent of fathers with children under the age of three had reduced their working hours.
Interestingly, the part-time rate for mothers has hardly changed since 2005, while it has risen by a good four percentage points for fathers.
Summary
Mothers with children mostly work part-time. In contrast, the proportion of fathers working part-time is very low. Overall, almost one in three people in employment in Germany work part-time. The employment rate was 77% in 2024, reaching a new high.
