Equality and its obstacles: Legacy Study 2023

How far has equality in the workplace come, and what obstacles still need to be overcome? This is the topic of the legacy study conducted by Die Zeit in collaboration with the Berlin Social Science Center and the infas Institute for Applied Social Sciences. The initiative Chef:innensache is a cooperation partner. The study looked in particular at the distribution of tasks in (heterosexual) family constellations and analyzed the impact this has on work and careers. The results show that women not only take on the majority of unpaid work in the household, but also the so-called mental load: they also have to constantly think about and organize ongoing tasks. Other topics covered in the legacy study include the role of women's quotas and the advancement of women, the effects of parental leave, and family and child planning. It also addresses different evaluation standards, such as the choice of surname upon marriage: men who take their wife's surname are considered to be less career-oriented than men who keep their own surname. And it shows that the importance of children is declining, especially among women: “After the experience of extreme mental load during the pandemic, [women] apparently consider gainful employment to be a safer deal in order to be able to live with a reasonable degree of equality.” We were also interested in these topics:

• Pensions: The topic of pensions and retirement provision is currently the subject of controversial debate. CDU politician Carsten Linnemann is now once again proposing to link the retirement age to life expectancy. ntv has summarized the other positions that the deputy party leader sees as being anchored in the CDU's basic program.

• Unemployment: How has the number of unemployed people developed over the last ten years, what definitions are used, and what role does asylum play in this? Answers to these and other questions on the topic of unemployment can be found in the response of the federal government to a minor interpellation by the AfD parliamentary group.

• Starting a career: Especially at the beginning of one's career, people are usually particularly careful not to make mistakes and to make the best possible impression. In Zeit (€), eight people talk about the mistakes they made as young professionals.

• Minimum wage: In principle, there is a clear minimum wage in Germany. The Tagesschau took a closer look at why there are still many exceptions and how the minimum wage is being undermined.

• Salary: 42% of Germans talk openly about their salary – despite possible confidentiality clauses in their employment contracts. t3n analyzed how this compares with other European countries.

• AI in the workplace: ChatGPT can be helpful for research – or it can invent information. This was discovered by a lawyer who argued a case in court based on ChatGPT research that included fabricated cases. Details can be found at golem.de.

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