The majority of managers are still male, but women are at the forefront of part-time management positions. Overall, part-time models are becoming increasingly relevant for bosses.
Almost three quarters of the managerial positions that are part-time are filled by women. This emerges from a study by the employer-related Institute of the German Economy (IW) on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Economics, from which the dpa news agency quotes. Overall, according to the data, 27.7 percent of female managers work part-time, but only 4.9 percent of men work.
However, according to data from the Federal Employment Agency, only about one in eight (12.2 percent) of the almost two million employees in management positions in Germany who are subject to social insurance contributions worked part-time last year. However, corresponding models are becoming more relevant. In 2013 the proportion was 8.9 percent. According to IW, women occupy around a third of management positions in Germany.
Part-time positions for managers positive for the proportion of women
There are big differences between the genders when it comes to the reasons for a part-time management position. 46.9 percent of female part-time managers report personal and family obligations, compared to only 17.9 percent of men. The most common reason for men is the desire to work part-time, according to the IW.
A short IW report on the topic from last December states that part-time management positions meet the desire of many for shorter working hours and offer an opportunity to balance career and family. According to the IW, this could have a particularly positive impact on the proportion of women among managers.
A remedy against Lack of leadership?
Part-time management models vary widely depending on the industry and company size. The proportion is particularly high at almost a third in professions in the areas of health, social affairs, teaching and education. It is particularly low in raw material extraction, production and manufacturing as well as in construction, architecture, surveying and building technology.
“Part-time leadership is particularly common in areas where predominantly women work, while in male-dominated professional areas, part-time leadership is more of an exception,” says IW study author Lydia Malin. In smaller companies with up to 49 employees, the proportion of female part-time managers is significantly higher (30.7 percent) than in large companies with more than 250 employees (22.4 percent).
According to Malin, part-time leadership models have several advantages for companies. “In order to counteract the shortage of managers, companies can expand the circle of potential managers by allowing the greatest possible degree of flexibility through part-time models.”
Tailor-made offers help
Expert Malin recommends that companies explicitly mention when advertising a management position that it can also be held part-time. Tailor-made offers such as collaborations with daycare centers or company kindergartens could help to attract applicants. Nevertheless, part-time managers also have to expect extra work. In an IW survey, every second human resources manager stated that management responsibility, even part-time, requires a high level of time commitment and the willingness to work regular overtime.
The IW short report cited states that almost 70 percent of HR managers are of the opinion that part-time management can only work in their company if employees without management responsibility also take on (more) entrepreneurial responsibility.
Among all employees, women are also much more likely to work part-time. According to the Federal Statistical Office, the part-time rate in 2022 was 49 percent, and for men it was just under 13 percent. A recently published study by the trade union-affiliated Hans Böckler Foundation offers an explanation for this. More than two thirds of the mothers stated that they did the majority of the care work. For fathers it was four percent.
Women are disadvantaged when it comes to bonus payments
Meanwhile, the Ifo Institute has come to the conclusion in a recent study that women are disadvantaged not only when it comes to basic salaries, but also when it comes to bonus payments. In Germany, women receive an average of 6.1 percent less in bonus payments, as shown by the analysis presented today by the ifo Institute and the management consultancy Mercer for over 270 companies in Austria, Germany and Switzerland.
In Austria the gap between men and women is 7.2 percent. Companies in Switzerland pay women an average of 5.2 percent less in bonuses.
“The gender-specific wage gap in bonus payments is significantly larger than in basic salary. Because of these large differences, the gap in total salary is even larger,” said ifo researcher Michaela Paffenholz. In Germany, the wage gap between men and women when it comes to basic salaries is 2.7 percent. Bonus payments increase it to 3.0 percent of the total salary.