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Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - Germany (RATIFICATION: 1961)

The Committee notes the observations of the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB) of 5 December 2016.

Articles 2 and 3 of the Convention. Equality of opportunity and treatment irrespective of race, colour or national extraction. The Committee notes the Government’s statement, in its report, that the situation of persons with a migrant background, which represented 20 per cent of the total population in 2015, has improved slightly but still remains difficult. It notes that in 2015, the average unemployment rate was 14.6 per cent for foreigners, against 5.6 per cent for German nationals. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that several programmes focusing on persons with a migration background are being implemented in the framework of the National Action Plan on Integration (NAP-I) which aims at: (i) increasing their employment opportunities, including in the public sector, as well as their qualifications and competencies; (ii) ensuring that advisers in employment agencies, job centres and others involved in the labour market have intercultural and migration-specific competencies; and (iii) securing a basis of skilled workers and improving their workplace integration by promoting diversity at the company level. Referring to its previous comments concerning the 113 projects sponsored between 2012 and 2014 under the “XENOS-Integration and Diversity” programme with the aim of improving access for youth with a migrant background to education and employment, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that alongside direct support for disadvantaged young people, this programme also contributed to create lasting changes in operational and administrative routine in human resources policy. It notes that the successful approaches from XENOS are being further developed as part of the European Social Fund (ESF) “Federal Integration Guidelines” Project for 2014–20. The Committee notes that while welcoming the efforts of the Government, the DGB considers that greater account should be taken of the gender perspective. It notes in this respect that the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) highlighted that migrant and minority women continue to be at risk of experiencing multiple forms of discrimination in access to education and employment (CEDAW/C/DEU/CO/7-8, 9 March 2017, paragraph 43). The Committee also notes that several UN bodies recently expressed concern about the high representation of minorities, including Sinti, Roma, people of African descent and other minorities victim of multiple discrimination, such as Muslims, in lower level schools and in schools in marginalized areas and recommended that the Government increase the level of educational attainment of children of ethnic minorities, in particular by preventing their marginalization, and comprehensively address de facto segregation of those minorities in education, taking into account its close relation to discrimination in the field of employment (CERD/C/DEU/CO/19-22, 30 June 2015, paragraph 13; A/HRC/36/60/Add.2, 15 August 2017, paragraphs 85 and 89; and A/HRC/WG.6/30/DEU/2, 12 March 2018, paragraphs 40, 55 and 56). Specific concerns were also expressed about the persistent discrimination faced by those minorities in gaining access to work opportunities or to management positions (CERD/C/DEU/CO/19-22, 30 June 2015, paragraphs 14 and 17; A/HRC/36/60/Add.2, 15 August 2017, paragraph 42; and A/HRC/WG.6/30/DEU/2, 12 March 2018, paragraph 42). The Committee notes that, in the framework of the Universal Periodic Review, the UN Working Group also recommended that the Government should strengthen its efforts to improve the integration of minorities in the labour market (A/HRC/39/9, 11 July 2018, paragraph 155). The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the specific measures taken to prevent segregation and discrimination in education and employment of persons with a minority or migrant background including Sinti, Roma and people of African descent and to ensure them an improved access to education and employment opportunities, including through affirmative action measures, as well as the impact thereof. It further requests the Government to continue to provide information on the implementation of any programmes undertaken in that regard, including in the framework of the National Action Plan on Integration (NAP-I) and the ESF “Federal Integration Guidelines” Project for 2014–20, as well as a copy of the results of any relevant studies and reports evaluating their impact.

Occupational segregation. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that several policies and programmes are still implemented to fight horizontal occupational segregation and that a panel of experts was established in 2014, under the overall management of the Government and with the involvement of the Federal Employment Agency, with a view to achieving a shared understanding of gender neutral choice of occupations and studies, identifying appropriate means of implementation and monitoring impact. It notes however that, in its 2017 concluding observations, the CEDAW recommended that the Government address discriminatory stereotypes and structural barriers that may deter girls from progressing beyond secondary education and enrolling in traditionally male-dominated fields of study, such as mathematics, information technology and science (CEDAW/C/DEU/CO/7-8, 9 March 2017, paragraph 34). Referring to its previous comments on the low representation of women in leadership positions in the private sector, the Committee takes note with interest of the adoption of the Act on the Equal Participation of Women and Men in Leadership Positions in the Public and Private Sectors on 6 March 2015, introducing a mandatory 30 per cent gender quota, to be realized by 2016, for supervisory boards of more than one hundred companies which are publicly listed and subject to parity co-determination (i.e. employees’ representation on their supervisory board). As of 2018, the proportion of women shall be increased to 50 per cent as far as bodies whose members are appointed by the federal Government are concerned. In addition, about 3,500 medium-sized companies are also required to set, by June 2017, their own targets for increasing the proportion of women on supervisory boards, executive boards and at the top management levels. In accordance with the new law, the Federal Act on Gender Equality and the Federal Act on Appointment to Federal Bodies were revised to increase the proportion of women in leadership positions in the public sector. The Government adds that support is provided to companies in this regard and thorough monitoring will be conducted every year by the Government to assess the impact of the Act. The Committee however notes that, according to the last European Commission country report on gender equality (2017, page 14), only 46 per cent of the companies fulfill the statutory gender quota for supervisory boards It notes that the Federal Statistical Office considered, in 2017, that the proportion of women holding an executive position remained nearly unchanged in comparison with the previous two years, as it was 29.2 per cent which was still five percentage points lower than the European average. The Committee further notes that, in its 2018 concluding observations, the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) expressed concern at the low representation of women in decision-making positions, particularly in the private sector, and at the ineffectiveness of the Act on the Equal Participation in this regard. It is concerned, in particular, that: (i) the statutory 30 per cent gender quota for supervisory boards, provided for in the Act, covers only 108 companies; (ii) a majority of those companies that are obliged to set targets for gender quotas under the Act have not done so; and (iii) sanctions for non-compliance are not effective (E/C.12/DEU/CO/6, 12 October 2018, paragraph 30). The Committee hopes that the Government will strengthen its efforts to effectively increase women’s representation in decision-making positions, including in supervisory boards, both in the public and private sectors, and through an effective implementation of the Act on the Equal Participation of Women and Men in Leadership Positions. It requests the Government to continue to provide information on any difficulties identified in the implementation of the Act and sanctions imposed, as well as on any other measures taken to enhance women’s representation in leadership positions. It further requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken to combat gender stereotypes regarding women’s career aspirations and capabilities which contribute to their under-representation in traditionally male-dominated fields of study, including as a result of the recommendations made in 2014 by the panel of experts on gender neutrality on the choice of education and employment, and the impact thereof.

The Committee is raising other matters in a request addressed directly to the Government.