Christine Bergmann

Future-Oriented Family Policies

[German]

The study of history makes it clear to us that women always have had to struggle in every area of life for every centimetre of ground they have gained. Be it past or present, true perseverance is required for this fight. As you address the theme of this conference, “The Jewish Family – Myth or Reality”, you are taking the bull by the horns. Stereotypes and clichés about women and the role of women and the family continue to prevail. This is true for the whole of our society.

But a welcome public debate on the role of the family in our society currently is taking place. “The disintegration of the family” is an expression that crops up again and again. Failing marriages, rising divorce rates and a decline in the birth rate are frequently cited as evidence of this trend. If we take a closer look, we see the institution of the family is actually far more stable than claimed. People have come to perceive the family more positively in recent years. That is not surprising in view of the social developments that I will, for the sake of brevity, call globalisation and a demand for increased flexibility. These developments are causing people to seek emotional stability primarily within the family.

In recent years, family structures have become increasingly diverse. There are single-parent families, “patchwork” families, foster families and families in that the heads of household or parents are not married. Nevertheless, nearly 80 percent of children are still raised by married couples, just as before. These forms of family also deserve recognition and support. The developments of recent years show that family life is not static, but is changing in many ways. Although the form of the family has remained stable, the roles of individual members and the patterns of relationships have changed fundamentally. The trend today has deviated from the norm of social groups required to secure existence to familial relationships based on choice. And that is an enrichment.

Yet there is still a long way to go before consensus about work within the family itself has been achieved. Who is responsible for work within the home and raising children? The changing roles of women are a central factor for the shift in forms and types of families and changes in family relationships. Today, women, like men, want both career and family. But the roles of men are beginning to change, too. After all, from 50 to 70 percent of young men say they would support more equality in partnerships, childcare and housework. But there is a great discrepancy between these desires and reality. It is still not easy to reconcile family and career. As in the past, childcare is a sticking point, but parents do not receive enough support in the working world either. One of the major questions society faces is how to achieve a more harmonious balance between the worlds of work and home. Together with numerous firms in Germany, we are currently campaigning for a new image of fatherhood in our society. We want to motivate fathers to take active responsibility for their families. We want them to spend more time with their children and view themselves as more than just the breadwinner.

The core of the traditional nuclear family is undergoing permanent change. Stereotypes are confronted by reality on a daily basis. At your conference, these issues will be addressed in the context of the Jewish family. Change within it is closely linked to Jewish women’s changing perception of themselves. And it is only fitting that you include in the discussion your perspectives as Jewish women, which have been impacted by new conditions within the Jewish community as well as within society as a whole.

(Excerpt from the opening address of the conference)

Dr. Christine Bergmann is the German
Minister for Family, Seniors Women and Youth