The Independent Federal Commissioner for Antidiscrimination, Ferda Ataman, has accused the German government of falling short on the issue of pay disparities between men and women.
“We can definitively say that the government has not delivered on women’s rights” Ataman told the “Rheinische Post” on Tuesday. She noted that the deadline for implementing an EU directive on pay equality is this June and warned that failing to meet it could cost taxpayers millions of euros each month. “In the interest of taxpayers, the government cannot afford to refuse to act” she added.
Ataman also criticised Germany’s General Equal Treatment Act (AGG), describing it as a 20‑year‑old law that is among the weakest in Europe. “If we continue at this pace, humanity will colonise Mars rather than women achieving equality” she said.
She pointed out that in Germany it is still normal for people who bluff or negotiate better in job interviews to receive higher pay. “Paying women less for the same work is wrong” she said. Women perform 45 percent more unpaid care work each day, a hidden foundation of society and the economy. “We need a government that, instead of debating sick days, first looks at how many mothers must stay home because of a lack of childcare” Ataman urged.
This year’s Equal Pay Day falls on February 27, a day intended to draw attention to the ongoing wage gap between men and women.
