Affirmative Action: A German Perspective on the Promotion of Women's Rights with Regard to Employment
| Date | 01 March 2006 |
| Published date | 01 March 2006 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6478.2006.00347.x |
JOURNAL OF LAW AND SOCIETY
VOLUME 33, NUMBER 1, MARCH 2006
ISSN: 0263-323X, pp. 59±73
Affirmative Action: A German Perspective on the
Promotion of Women's Rights with Regard to Employment
Anke J. Stock*
This paper discusses affirmative action policies in Germany. After
German reunification, women from both east and west had hoped for a
new codification of their rights, including positive obligations on the
state to promote gender equality. However, the amendments to the
Basic Law in November 1994 did not clearly endorse this approach.
Opinions still differ as to whether Articles 3(2) and 3(3) of the Con-
stitution allow for affirmative action with regard to women's
employment. In 2001 quotas for the public employment sector were
finally introduced, but the use of quotas for private sector employment
still faces serious opposition. Nevertheless, the concept of affirmative
action is not new to the German legal system: since the eighteenth
century, quota schemes have been used to ensure the employment of
(war-)disabled persons. This article examines the different approaches
to employment quotas for women and disabled persons, and critically
evaluates the reasons for divergence.
INTRODUCTION
The social integration of groups that have been discriminated against is
determined by, among other things, their labour force participation rate,
which is a clear indication of the power structure within a social group.
1
This
observation is all the more valid in circumstances of high unemployment,
such as pertain in Germany today.
2
59
ß2006 The Author. Journal Compilation ß2006 Cardiff University Law School. Published by Blackwell Publishing Ltd,
9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, UK and 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, USA
* Women in Europe for a Common Future, Blumenstrasse 28, 80331
Munich, Germany
anke.stock@web.de
1 J.H. Sidanius and R.C. Veniegas, `Gender and Race Discrimination: The Interactive
Nature of Disadvantage' in Reducing Prejudice and Discrimination, ed. S. Oskamp
(2000) 47 ff.
2 In 2005, c. 9.5 per cent, .
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