Perspektive Wiedereinstieg - Beruf & Familie gGmbH

Ten percent of the interviewed women could imagine starting up a professional self­employment;
the percentage of participating women is higher here.
How do employment rates develop over time? It should be kept in mind that, compared to
non­participants, participants would probably have remained withdrawn from the labor
market for a longer period of time without the help of the program. Participating women as
well as non­participating women who have taken up a new job are mostly working part­time
or marginal part­time. Depending on the time of the survey, about 50 to 70 percent of the
interviewees have been working in a full­time job, part­time or in a minor employment.
During all interviews, however, only about ten percent of the women have been working fulltime.
Over time, the percentage of women working full­time or part­time increased from
about 30 to 50 percent. A comparison with “statistical twins” from the potential comparison
group – women who are clients of the Federal Employment Agency – shows that even though
the target group of the program consists of women with a rather low labor market orientation
(starting application activities usually after a longer orientation period), the employment rate
at the respective survey time­point shows little variation between both groups. The employment
rate of participating women who had already completed their case­management was
often higher than in the control group; especially during the first survey wave more participating
women were employed in full­time or part­time. During the third survey wave of the first
cohort (after nearly all participating women had finished their case­management) participants
work insignificantly more frequently in a full­time or a part­time job than comparison persons.
This could indicate that positive program effects arise mainly in the longer run. Looking
at the kind of help provided, in particular active support to find a job had a positive effect on
the employment rate. Finally an analysis of occupational characteristics shows that part­time
workers, especially “Mini­jobbers”, wish to work longer hours, while full­time workers would
like to reduce their working hours. Participating women are significantly less often working in
jobs for which they are over­qualified. Ten percent of the interviewed women were self­employed
at the time of survey.
The findings of the qualitative study are based on several data sources. The key elements are
30 biographical narrative (in­depth) interviews with participating women of “perspective
re­entry” as well as a group discussion with selected experts on the topic of caring for persons
who are in need of care. Furthermore, relevant professional meetings have regularly been
scientifically accompanied and minuted. Public relation documents of the responsible institutions
were analyzed regarding different aspects as well.
In the biographical narrative interviews with 30 women potentially re-entering the labor market,
traditional gender roles become apparent – not only on the part of the partner and the
particular living­milieus but also on the part of the women themselves. Thus, an important
part of the work of service providers is to help women questioning these roles. A major reason
for the employment interruption and its length – the birth and care of children – has been
shaped by perceptions about the role of a mother and a life for the family. But structural reasons
(closure of companies, moves, work­time schedules in specific sectors or jobs etc.) as well
as caring for needy family members impede a re­entry to the labor market.