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April 26, 2024
The Federal Council is calling for maternity protection for the self-employed as well. The federal government should now create appropriate instruments. Female entrepreneurs in the skilled trades are particularly affected. Master carpenter Johanna Röh has been fighting against inequality of opportunity and for reform for two years.
Self-employed women should receive the same maternity protection benefits during pregnancy and after childbirth as employees. In its meeting on April 26, 2024, the Bundesrat (Federal Council) called on the federal government to create appropriate instruments for self-employed women. The resolution is based on an initiative by North Rhine-Westphalia and Hamburg.
The proportion of women founding start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises remains extremely low. German law contains regulations for pregnant employees, civil servants, and judges – but not for the self-employed. Therefore, equal conditions regarding the compatibility of work and family life must be created. This could be financed through federal funds or by establishing a solidarity-based contribution system.
Especially when they are still young, female entrepreneurs often lack sufficient savings for adequate retirement planning . They face the threat of lost orders and declining revenue if they are unable to work due to pregnancy and childbirth, potentially leading to insolvency. The Federal Council stated that female entrepreneurs in the skilled trades are particularly affected, as the work is often physically demanding and the need for investment is especially high during this phase of life. However, the issue also affects female doctors, lawyers, designers, and retailers.
The Federal Council is therefore demanding that the Federal Government create "instruments for female founders and self-employed individuals that provide support for starting a business and prevent pregnancy-related business closures ." The resolution will now be forwarded to the Federal Government, which will decide when to address the demands from the states. "There are no fixed deadlines for this," the Federal Council reports. Until then, pregnancy remains "an incalculable financial risk" for many self-employed women, says master carpenter Johanna Röh (pictured).
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The fact that the issue is now being discussed at the highest political level is thanks to the entrepreneur from Alfhausen in Lower Saxony, who experienced during her own pregnancy in 2022 that there is no social security for self-employed female craftspeople.
"While I was on sick leave due to pregnancy, I could no longer support myself, and the fixed costs of my workshop piled up. I continued working on the construction site heavily pregnant to avoid the risk of bankruptcy during my postpartum period. My desire to have children became a competitive disadvantage, as if it were a personal hobby," she reports. ( Read how it all began here )
Johanna Röh subsequently launched a petition for equal maternity protection rights for self-employed pregnant women while still pregnant . She found many supporters and collected over 110.000 signatures – the highest number of signatures ever recorded in the Bundestag's Petitions Committee . "The message is simple," she says. " Article 6, Paragraph 4 of the Basic Law must be implemented: Every mother is entitled to the protection and care of the community." Federal Family Minister Lisa Paus then spoke out in favor of maternity protection for the self-employed at the end of 2022. On September 18, 2023 , a public hearing was held in the Bundestag , during which Johanna Röh was among those heard as an expert witness.
Furthermore, it would be short-sighted to focus solely on the personal living expenses when considering future social security for self-employed mothers. "What about the business and the employees? Failing to consider them when defining maternity protection for the self-employed means misunderstanding the needs and realities of their lives." The entrepreneur has since founded the association "Maternity Protection for All" and is supported in her efforts by, among others, the German Confederation of Skilled Crafts (ZDH) .
Sources: Federal Council; Johanna Röh
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