Study on self-employment and maternity protection

The IfM Bonn has investigated the professional consequences of pregnancy and motherhood for self-employed female craftspeople in North Rhine-Westphalia. The results are enormous physical and financial burdens.

This article is part of the special topic women in crafts

"The majority of self-employed female craftspeople consider the introduction of maternity benefits, such as those received by dependent employees, to be sensible." This is a key finding of a study by the Institute for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Research Bonn (IfM) on self-employment and maternity protection in North Rhine-Westphalia. The project was commissioned by the State Ministry of Economic Affairs and West German Chamber of Crafts (WHKT). "Although a large proportion of female craftswomen take a break from work shortly before giving birth and resume shortly afterward, they suffer significant losses in sales and thus in their income," say the IfM researchers.

This is due to the necessary organizational measures surrounding childbirth. These lead to a reduction in working hours; in some cases, the tradeswomen are no longer able to accept new orders or even have to temporarily close the business altogether. Furthermore, in many cases, the tradeswomen perform activities that are prohibited for dependent employees under the Maternity Protection Act. "Pregnancy and motherhood are associated with significant business and personal disadvantages for self-employed tradeswomen," the study states. Solo self-employed individuals are particularly affected.

Sick pay often remains unused

StudyHere you can find the study "Self-employed female craftswomen as (expectant) mothers – results of a NRW-wide survey" of the IfM.One insurance option often goes unused: Self-employed female tradespeople can offset their loss of earnings due to pregnancy and maternity with sickness insurance. Less than a third of the women surveyed received wage replacement benefits from statutory or private health insurance during their maternity leave. "These women essentially lacked information about this insurance option." According to the IfM, two-thirds of female tradespeople feel inadequately informed about this topic.

Overall, self-employed female craftspeople expressed a desire for support similar to that provided to dependent employees. More than 80 percent of self-employed female craftspeople welcomed maternity benefits paid up to six weeks before and eight weeks after birth, which would be financed by all self-employed individuals regardless of gender. Almost 43 percent of self-employed female craftspeople could envision solidarity-funded business assistance, in which, instead of a cash benefit, a qualified specialist would be provided to temporarily take over the tasks of the self-employed, thus ensuring the continuation of the business.

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Bringing even more women into the trades

"Currently, only around 22 percent of skilled trades businesses in North Rhine-Westphalia are run by women. It is no longer justifiable to forgo women as skilled workers and managers," emphasizes WHKT President Berthold Schröder. "We want to support even more women in their careers in the skilled trades and are therefore committed to improving the framework conditions." Based on the results of the study, the skilled trades and interest groups, together with the IfM Bonn, now intend to develop concrete recommendations for action to specifically improve the situation of pregnant women and mothers in the skilled trades.

"Those who work physically hard until shortly before giving birth and then immediately return to work need not only recognition but also concrete support," says North Rhine-Westphalia's Economics Minister Mona Neubaur (Green Party). To finally create maternity benefits for self-employed women, she pushed through an initiative in the Bundesrat (Federal Council) last spring. "Now the federal government must finally act. Because if self-employed female craftsmen have to work hard in their businesses until shortly before giving birth because they have no entitlement to income replacement benefits, that's not only unfair, it's also a violation of the Basic Law." 

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