Too Few Women in Top Posts.

In 2000, women accounted for the majority of white collar workers and civil servants in Germany (57%), but they only occupied about one quarter of the senior and management posts. In the expanding high-technology fields it was even rarer for them to be found at the top than in the traditional sectors. Their best chances are in services, including the public service. Most of the men in senior positions are married and live with their families, while this applies to only about half of the women. There is much leeway to be made up regarding the share of women in senior posts and their earnings. The federal government has committed to improving the position of women in working life under the Amsterdam Treaty. Marriage tends to reduce a woman's earnings on the whole. Married women earned 7% net less than their unmarried colleagues on average, but married men earned 13% more than single males. Only for men in senior positions there was a positive correlation between the number of children and the income. Under the Amsterdam Treaty, Germany has undertaken to implement the European Union Council directives on equality of opportunity in working life. The European Council requires Germany, among other things, to make greater efforts to reduce the wage differential between the sexes.