Parents' working-hours gap in Bremen
Parents' working-hours gap in Bremen stood at 28.3 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 | |
| Bremen | 28.3 | 27.6 | 29.3 | 28.3 | 27.2 | 27.2 | 27.6 | 29.9 | 29.7 | 30.7 | |
| Hamburg | 26 | 24.2 | 25.3 | 24.1 | 25.2 | 24.9 | 24.1 | 26.6 | 27 | 29.4 |
Understanding parents' working-hours gap in Bremen
Assessing domestic family units across Bremen, this metric calculates the arithmetic divergence in weekly paid job hours between mothers and fathers. The observation captures the gap by deducting maternal weekly hours from paternal weekly hours among employed parents who share a home with dependent children. Domicile within the state of Bremen determines inclusion, meaning that only resident parents are surveyed, while non-resident personnel commuting into local workplaces are excluded. Sibling entries in this table monitor either equivalent parental time spreads in other federal states or financial benchmarks such as pension and hourly wage differentials. By focusing strictly on active parents, the metric leaves out childless employees, retirees, and individuals outside the formal labor force.
Published as an annual statistical release, the series does not exhibit quarterly or monthly seasonal swings. Longitudinal comparisons should focus on year-on-year trajectories, though users must watch for occasional survey redesigns and population benchmark rebasing that can recalibrate household sampling weights. A key analytical caution stems from the city-state geography: cross-border labor flows are substantial, so maternal and paternal schedules reflect regional labor markets that extend beyond municipal boundaries. Furthermore, a compression in the working-hours gap does not automatically signal greater earnings equality, as it may coincide with persistent disparities in hourly pay grades or occupational positioning.
Frequently asked questions
- Why does this series focus on Bremen residents rather than people working in Bremen?
- Household microdata tracks where families maintain their domicile, so incoming commuter parents are excluded while resident parents commuting out are retained.
- Which children qualify a household for inclusion in this Bremen indicator?
- The dataset includes households where employed parents cohabit with dependent minor children who rely on parental care.
- Can this working-hours metric be used as a proxy for the parental earnings gap?
- No, because it accounts only for weekly time spent on the job and ignores differences in hourly wages, bonuses, and tax classes.