Parents' working-hours gap in Baden-Württemberg
Parents' working-hours gap in Baden-Württemberg stood at 29.2 hours per week in 2025, according to Federal Ministry of Education, Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (BMBFSFJ) – Digital Gender Equality Atlas. It is one of the indicators in the Gender gaps by federal state table (Value · Annual), with a complete series running from 2008 to 2025. The complete series with an interactive chart, free to download.
This indicator in the Gender gaps by federal state table
| Indicator | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Germany | 26.9 | 27 | 27.5 | 27.5 | 27.5 | 27.8 | 28.7 | 29 | 28.9 | 29.7 | |
| Baden-Württemberg | 29.2 | 30.1 | 30.2 | 30.5 | 31.1 | 31.1 | 32.1 | 31.6 | 32.1 | 33 | |
| Bavaria | 29.2 | 29.1 | 30.2 | 30.1 | 29.9 | 31.1 | 31 | 31.7 | 31.9 | 31.9 |
Understanding parents' working-hours gap in Baden-Württemberg
Domestic survey filings in Baden-Württemberg supply the inputs for this domestic gap, contrasting the average weekly hours worked by fathers against those worked by mothers. The measure calculates the difference between the mean weekly employment hours of employed fathers and employed mothers who reside in the state with dependent children. Unlike establishment-based wage metrics in this table, data collection follows the place-of-residence principle, capturing parents living in local households regardless of where their workplaces are situated. Parents outside the labor force or without jobs are omitted from this hourly calculation, as are childless individuals and unpaid domestic tasks. This row differs from the nationwide aggregate by isolating households within the state, and from wage gap rows by measuring weekly labor supply rather than hourly gross pay.
Reported on an annual schedule, the indicator does not exhibit within-year seasonality. When analyzing the series across several years, researchers should be mindful of potential statistical breaks caused by revisions to the household survey framework, changes in sampling weights, or altered age limits for dependent children. Evaluating the series across multiple years reveals shifts in household employment models, although short-term annual variations may partly reflect sample fluctuations. An important interpretive pitfall is equating a smaller working-hours gap with higher maternal employment rates, since the metric only evaluates parents who are already working and leaves out parents who are not participating in the labor force.
Frequently asked questions
- How is the parental working-hours gap defined in Baden-Württemberg?
- It represents the difference in average weekly paid working hours between employed fathers and employed mothers living in the state with dependent children.
- Does this indicator measure where parents work or where they live?
- This metric is based on the place of residence, surveying households located within Baden-Württemberg regardless of where parents commute to work.
- Why does this series exclude parents who do not work?
- The measure specifically tracks the weekly hours of employed parents, while parental labor force participation is tracked separately in employment rate indicators.