Silke Bothfeld/Peter Bleses, 21.10.2025: Equality in the labour market: the challenges of the socio-ecological transformation

In order to ensure that the socio-ecological transformation is gender-equitable, a strategy for expanding services must be combined with better working conditions.

The labour market is one of the key factors for the success of a (gender-)equitable ecological transformation. In addition to addressing the key questions of how we can readjust our consumption of resources and energy, we must also develop solutions for shaping the consequences of this new structural change in the labour market that now takes place, after mechanisation, industrialisation, automation and digitalisation. In the expertise on the occasion of the German government's Fourth Equality Report (Expert Commission 2025), we examined the consequences of socio-ecological transformation for gender relations in the German labour market. Our conclusion: if we want to strengthen equality and justice, we must go much deeper than previously assumed.

Shaping social and ecological transformation in a gender-equitable manner – a two-fold challenge

The socio-ecological transformation is a two-fold challenge: on the one hand, the ecological restructuring must be achieved overall, on the other hand, this restructuring must be socially equitable; gender equality being a key dimension in this regard. In tackling this dual challenge, the labour market is a central coordination mechanism that determines the distribution of national income between the economy and employees, and between sectors, industries and different employee groups. The idea that an “invisible hand” could regulate wages as the “price of labour”, social and individual needs, the provision of necessary goods and the safeguarding of human existence in an acceptable manner has long been the realm of myth. An unregulated, progressive transformation threatens to exacerbate inequalities in the labour market. Although women's participation in the labour market has increased in recent decades, there are still significant differences between women and men, in terms of both working hours and with respect to professional position and income. Care and family work continues to be unevenly distributed, which became particularly apparent during the COVID-19 pandemic. Women continue to be disproportionately represented in part-time jobs and in occupations with lower incomes, which leads to a persistent wage and pension gap. It is primarily segregation in the labour market that has led to the consolidation of these differences (Jochmann-Döll 2024; Haan et al. 2025).

Furthermore, recognising planetary boundaries is turning our previous thinking on its head: like industrialisation, the most important social consequence of which was the development of the welfare state, socio-ecological transformation is about systematic containment and not primarily about supporting market processes. While the welfare state was developed to protect the workforce as a resource, the socio-ecological transformation project aims to remove the natural foundations of human life on this planet – space, time and raw materials – from overly extensive market access. In view of planetary boundaries, the only valid principle that remains is that what can be done must be conceived (and implemented) based on what is feasible, not what is conceivable! Therefore, the main driver of technological development, namely private profit, must be accompanied, if not replaced, by the logic of sustainable action oriented towards the common good in consumption and production. The idea of unlimited possibilities in product development and marketing must be counterbalanced by solutions for sufficient economic practices based on the concept of “enough”, and these solutions must be implemented.

That alone would be difficult enough, as demonstrated by the phasing out of combustion engines in the automotive industry and the transition to a circular economy. However, the project of socio-ecological transformation is particularly complex because the old “Fordist” industrial society is structurally based on inequality and injustice – including the social division of labour. It “works” only by accepting social inequality and a gender-specific division of labour. “Simply” introducing sustainable product and production strategies would perpetuate injustices and inequality, and probably even increase them, if employment opportunities for low-skilled workers continue to decline and segregation in the labour market grows. The increase in social inequality and the perceived threat to the standard of living to which people have become accustomed would place additional strain on social cohesion, which is already fragile.

Admittedly, strengthening social equality and justice does call into question some of the existing patterns of distribution, social conditions and our cultural habits. However, a targeted policy of just transition can be controlled and measured, for example by more clearly identifying and communicating the advantages and benefits of a gender-equitable and sustainable lifestyle and by “controlled” allocation of (social) investment funds, for example through environmental or climate impact assessments and gender checks. Moreover, it is also likely – and this presents a great opportunity – that reducing the pressure to exploit human labour can create space for people to take responsibility for shaping their own lives. The tangible goal of all stakeholders committed to good and sustainable gainful employment is to open up opportunities for human development, for example through the development of personal skills, a more environmentally conscious lifestyle, or a gender-equitable work-life balance.

Changes in the labour market

The changes must therefore be fundamental, both in the labour market and in the economy as a whole, and must not merely “cosmetic” in nature (see also Bothfeld 2026). The restructuring of entire industries that are central to reducing CO2 emissions (energy, mobility, housing and food), and changes in the nature of occupations are already underway. The existing instruments of gender equality policy (targeted recruitment of women into technical professions, encouragement of career advancement, improvement of work-life balance, gender checks on economic and employment promotion measures, and, of course, a strong pay transparency law) are all necessary conditions for advancing gender equality in the labour market. However, they must be applied more consistently if women and men are to have equal opportunities in terms of good employment conditions.

However, the new challenge for the labour market and employment in the transformation is that the fundamentals of our economic activity are changing at all levels (Froud et al. 2022). A changed understanding of economics and production, the idea of cycles or sustainable economic and lifestyles will also transform our understanding of what we mean by work. The time required for “personal activities” – such as gardening, repairs, spending time with family, self-development or further education – may increase, and with it the desire for shorter working hours or more favourable conditions for activities outside of gainful employment. However, shorter full-time working hours will enable women in particular to participate more fully and equally in the labour market, so that a reduction of working hours will not lead to a shortage of labour.

At the same time, profound structural changes will be required throughout the entire economy. Some industries are rapidly losing importance, while the service sector continues to expand. Industrial work remains important (for example, research-based industry, product development and the production of systemically important goods such as energy, steel, mechanical engineering, food and many others) but it is distributed very unevenly across regions (Südekum/Rademacher 2024). The skilled trades sector also plays an important role in climate protection and climate adaptation. However, the service sector still harbours untapped employment potential (Voss et al. 2025).

The central importance of social services

For the success of the transformation, expanding social and health services in nursing, childcare and education – which are at the core of social services – is fundamental. The concept of precautionary economic management has long pointed to the need to restructure our economy (Biesecker 2003). Social services will offer new employment opportunities, as they already do to a large extent today. The ecological transformation will further increase the need for continuing education and thus also the demand for teachers. Today, these sectors are predominantly female, but at the same time they are often characterised by lower wage levels compared to industry, higher part-time employment rates and lower social esteem.

The low esteem in which social services are held is in stark contrast to their importance to society. They are part of the overall social division of labour: the public provision of important services enables people to pursue gainful employment or obtain qualifications; this effect has already become apparent since the expansion of childcare. Firstly, this increases employment opportunities in the social professions and offers women, and increasingly men too, good job prospects; secondly, it allows attractive residential areas to be developed in rural areas without forcing people to migrate to the cities; and thirdly, and most importantly, these services make it possible for parents to continue working even after starting a family. Above all, as the example of the German region Lusatia shows, the comprehensive provision of social services ensures equal living conditions in regions that are particularly affected by the decline of old industries, especially in coal and steel regions. The service sector is therefore an important constituent for ensuring social cohesion in Germany.

Strengthening social services is linked to key policy requirements in terms of gender equality:

• enhancing social and personal services through better pay, fair working conditions and more attractive career paths
• integration into skilled-labour strategies to counteract the emerging shortage of personnel in these sectors, with particular attention to providing  good opportunities and strategies for the high proportion of assistants in social and health-related services.
• consideration of the actual working conditions in these professions when planning transformation measures, for example with regard to digitisation and climate adaptation processes.

The labour market and employment policy framework conditions must be aligned

Collective bargaining agreements and workplace co-determination are important levers for promoting equality and ensuring the success of the socio-ecological transformation. Collective agreements and co-determination in the workplace not only ensure minimum standards, they also often contain provisions on working hours and working time arrangements, pay scales, further training and much more that can foster gender-equitable structures.

The positive effect of collective agreements is particularly refelcted in the smaller gender pay gap in companies covered by collective agreements compared to those that are not. In addition, collective agreements and works agreements may contain provisions on the socio-ecological restructuring of businesses, which can offer certainty to companies and employees during transition phases. The decline in collective bargaining coverage, particularly in female-dominated sectors such as retail, catering and parts of the social services sector, should be addressed by simplifying the process of declaring collective agreements generally binding, promoting sectoral collective agreements in sectors where collective bargaining is weak, implementing collective bargaining compliance regulations more effectively at federal and state level, and including gender equality provisions in collective bargaining agreements.

In order to strengthen co-determination in the workplace as a framework condition for a gender-equitable socio-ecological transformation, the establishment of works councils should be facilitated, including in small companies. Efforts should be directed towards achieving a more balanced gender representation in co-determination bodies, and equality and ecological restructuring goals should be included in works agreements.

The statutory minimum wage is an important supporting measure in this regard. However, it cannot close the gender pay gap on its own, as structural causes such as the gender distribution of part-time rates, occupational segregation and management positions are very unequal to the detriment of women. Nevertheless, the statutory minimum wage has led to noticeable wage increases, particularly for women, as women are disproportionately often employed in the low-wage sector. For the minimum wage to become a poverty-proof lower income threshold, it must be adjusted regularly and significantly.

Finally, training remains a key tool for empowering both women and men to secure future-proof employment, as digitalisation, decarbonisation and the emergence of new activities create new requirements. The aim here is to better tailor continuing vocational training programmes to the needs of part-time workers and people with care responsibilities in order to ensure greater participation by women. Specific training programmes are needed to encourage women to pursue careers in future-oriented fields, such as renewable energies, IT and other technical services. In addition, sufficient support for skills development must be ensured, particularly for low-income earners employed in areas of activity with low qualification requirements. Improving the skills of employees without vocational qualifications also offers great potential for reducing the shortage of skilled workers, particularly in skilled trades that are important for the socio-ecological transformation (Friemer/Bleses 2024).

Conclusions

This overview suggests that ‘weak interests’ are best protected by ‘strong institutions’. In order to shape the socio-ecological transformation in a gender-equitable manner, employment policy institutions must be linked to a strategy of targeted expansion of services with better working conditions. This currently benefits above all the many women employed in these sectors, because their incomes would improve and because the expansion of the service sector could, in the short and medium term, equalise the employment opportunities for women and men. However, an equality policy strategy must go beyond this and reduce labour market segregation by creating more incentives to attract women to vocational training and jobs in industry, skilled trades and technical services. Conversely, more effort should be made to recruit men for jobs in social services. Overall, social services need to be given greater social and monetary recognition in order to fulfil their central functions for social reproduction.

A transformation strategy that aims for greater social justice, and in particular gender equality, ultimately helps the socio-ecological transformation to establish a social basis that creates space for the development of new ways of living, economic activity and consumption. A constructive narrative of ecological transformation that focuses on positive socio-political goals would be a suitable way to productively overcome current defensive reactions, polemics and fears of loss.
 

References

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The article in German language: Gleichstellung im Arbeitsmarkt: Herausforderungen der sozial-ökologischen Transformation