Gainful employment and unpaid care work should not be mutually exclusive. Only when family work and employment are reconcilable, are working conditions equal. Public administration, numbering almost five million employees (in the Federal Government, states and municipalities), has an important exemplary function.
Men and women working in public administration need to have the possibility to share their responsibilities in the family and at work in partnership. For this reason, flexible work formats and times are necessary.
Furthermore, women are still less likely than men to hold leadership positions in public administration. This adds to the wage gap between women and men. The Federal Government aims to change this. Women need to be able to participate in public administration in the same way that men can.