New coalition agreement: What will change for the better for parents

Interview with Sandra Runge
# Equal rights for parents: What gives hope in the new coalition agreement

The new government is in place, as is the coalition agreement – and the entire campaign team from # GleichesRechtfürEltern was particularly happy about two positions. Which are they and why is the joy here so great?

The first passage that gives us hope that the legal situation for parents on the job will improve is on page 121. Here the coalition parties have agreed to evaluate the General Equal Treatment Act (AGG). They want to close protection gaps that currently still exist in the law, they want to improve legal protection and expand the scope. This is exactly what we have called for over and over again this year with regard to the feature of “parenthood”: “Parenthood” or “welfare service” should be included in the AGG as a discriminatory feature. Because then it would be easier for parents or people with caring responsibilities to defend themselves against discrimination.

However, it has not yet been formulated that explicitly in the coalition agreement …

It’s correct. But the AGG will definitely come to the test. That is already a huge success and a basic requirement for the topic to be dealt with politically at all. We very much hope that our specific demands are on the agenda of the coalition parties and that they will be taken into account.

Which position were you also happy about?

In the chapter on children and families, a promise is made to expand protection against dismissal due to parental leave: In future, it will no longer end with parental leave, but will apply for three months longer. That is still a very small time window. But it would give young parents a little more breathing space and enable a fair return to work. We also rate this passage as a clear confirmation of the possible resistance that parents can encounter in working life.

To BRIGITTE.de, PARENTS.de and in our magazines in the first half of the year we repeatedly reported on the actions with which we drummed together with you for better parental rights: About our petition on openPetition for example, in which we called for parenthood to be included in the AGG and for which we collected more than 50,000 votes. Or about our visit to Federal Justice and Family Minister Christine Lambrecht in June. But even after that, a lot happened. Tell me…

My co-initiator Karline Wenzel and I started the election campaign in August. We held many background discussions and achieved that leading politicians such as Annalena Baerbock, the family policy spokesman for the CDU Marcus Weinberg, Dorothee Bär from the CSU, or Nicole Bauer from the FDP officially supported our petition. Some politicians answered our questions in Insta Lives on the #proparents channel or at a panel discussion at the HerCareer career fair. And of course we continued to advertise our claim on the internet and in many interviews.

Apparently with success, as you can see now. But a coalition agreement is of course not yet law. What has to happen in the next few months for parents to actually improve their legal situation?

First of all, our demands must be further substantiated by figures and legal reports. We are therefore very much looking forward to the studies on “Parental Discrimination at Work” which will be published by the Federal Anti-Discrimination Agency in early 2022. These figures should contribute significantly to the fact that the topic is discussed even more widely in politics and in the public. And of course we will continue to put pressure on us until a corresponding draft law is drawn up and then, hopefully, passed quickly.

How can everyone support you?

We are always very happy when parents, but also people who are active in positions of responsibility or in politics, follow us on social networks and distribute our content. And we are still collecting reports from parents who have experienced disadvantages because of their caring responsibilities at work! If something like this has happened to you, feel free to contact us on Instagram or at [email protected]. We document these cases and – if requested – put you in contact with journalists who report on them. And of course we are always happy to receive ideas and contacts that make our network bigger and stronger. In general, we are overwhelmed by the huge support we have seen this year. We would like to thank you very much for this: You are great!

Brigitte