Incoherent strategies, fragmented outcomes. Raising women's employment rate in Germany (original) (raw)

Policies focusing on the transition between housework or care and paid em-ployment are inextricably connected with equal employment policies. Since the creation of the European Employment Strategy (EES) political attention has moved from equal opportunity policies at the EU level to 'social in-vestment' policies which underline the need to develop or maintain human capital rather than enhancing equality and justice. In this context, employ-ment policies are meant to focus on 'activation', i.e. an increase in labour market participation. But to what extent are the two objectives of gender equality and increasing labour market participation of women reconcilable in practice? This article discusses the implications of the EES for a conservative gender and employment regime and uses Germany as a case study. The hypothesis of this article is that the German labour market reforms introduced since Lisbon rather contribute to a further 'fragmentation' of the German g...