In Germany, women care for relatives more often than men. The Federal Statistical Office announced on Thursday that last year, twelve percent of working women and eight percent of working men were involved in caring for relatives. Overall, ten percent of working people between the ages of 25 and 64 in Germany cared for adult relatives in 2025.
Women spent more time caring for relatives than men. In 2025, 36 percent of working women who care for relatives dedicated ten hours or more of caregiving time per week. For working men with such duties, the caregiving time was ten hours or more per week for 29 percent.
Due to the increased time commitment of caregiving, 28 percent of working people adjusted their employment situation. They temporarily reduced their working hours (13 percent), worked at different times while keeping the same number of hours (6 percent), or temporarily used home office more often (4 percent). A difference between the genders also emerges here: 33 percent of women and 22 percent of men aged 25 to 64 changed their working arrangements. The part-time rate for women with caregiving responsibilities was eleven percentage points higher than for women without such responsibilities, whereas for men it was only five percentage points higher.
The proportion of working people who care for relatives was particularly high among working people aged 55 to 64, at 17 percent. It was also high among those aged 45 to 54 (12 percent). This group often cares for children simultaneously. According to the Federal Statistical Office, four percent of those aged 35 to 54 are engaged in parenting and caregiving alongside their work.
