Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) is debating what it calls an “exaggerated” work-life balance at its national conference, urging more people to move from part-time to full-time work. But a new study by the Hans-Böckler Foundation’s Economic and Social Science Institute (WSI) finds many parents are forced into part-time jobs by unreliable childcare caused by staff shortages, closures and reduced hours at day-care centers.
“Under the current circumstances, working parents cannot plan reliably, and women in particular have to think twice about whether they can take up or expand gainful employment,” said WSI Director Bettina Kohlrausch. She called for major investment in early education infrastructure and staffing, noting a shortage of hundreds of thousands of childcare places.
Data from the German Youth Institute (DJI) show that just over half of parents in Germany need external childcare, but only 33% say local provision covers the hours they need. Kohlrausch’s survey of about 900 families across social groups found 54% experienced a sudden lack of childcare. Of those affected, 30% reduced their working hours and 42% relied on friends or relatives — an option less available to immigrants and lower-income families.
Rachel, a schoolteacher from Cologne, told DW she had to cut her hours two years ago after her children’s daycare — for a 3- and a 7-year-old — began closing earlier because of staff shortages. “A full-time contract is out of the question — we don’t have any family nearby, and if kindergarten closes unexpectedly, or ends early, I can’t be at work,” she said, while acknowledging part-time work is possible in Germany but becoming harder as living costs rise.
The WSI research warns that unreliable childcare deepens unequal care burdens between men and women and hampers women’s labor-force participation. KfW, Germany’s state-owned development bank, estimates a nationwide shortfall of about €10.5 billion since 2022 to ensure reliable, quality childcare for every family. Responsibility for creating and financing places and training staff largely falls to state and local governments, and coverage varies widely among Germany’s 16 states — 23% of parents in Bremen report inadequate hours versus 5% in Saxony-Anhalt.
The gender gap is stark: in affected partnerships, 73% of men said their female partners stepped in to cover childcare, while only 39% of women reported their male partners did the same. Kohlrausch warned that proposals such as removing the maximum eight-hour workday — suggested by the CDU to increase working time — could harm women further.
Merz’s CDU campaigned on family policy, promising more money for families, reliable childcare and improvements to parental allowance. Ten months into government, few of those promises have been fulfilled.
Edited by: Rina Goldenberg
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