KIT has committed to adopting family-aware work and education policies to ensure compatibility of job and family for all employees. In line with the Gender Equal Opportunities Act of the State of Baden-Württemberg, KIT as an employer attaches high value to improving the work-life balance of employees with a family or staff caring for relatives and ensuring equal employment and career opportunities for women and men. On behalf of KIT, the Gender Equal Opportunities Commissioners are responsible for implementing gender equal opportunities as defined in the Federal Constitution (Article 3, par. 2). Moreover, they are responsible for enhancing occupational safety and health and increasing the staff’s awareness in handling conflicts at work, discrimination, mobbing, stalking, and sexual harassment.

KIT as an employer wishes to support working fathers and mothers in coping with their challenges and balancing job and family. The Family Portal of KIT provides all relevant information on this topic and encourages the employees to obtain more information. It offers a wide scope of advice on the job, studies, health, and care for relatives and also addresses international scientists who go abroad for research or return from abroad.

KIT offers several working time models, including teleworking or part-time work, to increase flexibility for a better compatibility of job and family.

To support expectant parents, KIT has developed special offers. Advice and information services are to accompany employees in times of pregnancy and after childbirth. Childcare services offered by KIT include a parent-child office, care for school children, and an emergency childcare program named “FlexiKids”.

Information & Resources 

Study and Recommendation for Action: Protecting Parents and Family Caregivers from Discrimination 

This PDF from the Federal Anti-Discrimination Agency summarizes the results of two studies. The studies deal with topics such as parental leave, discrimination experiences of caring, working relatives, as well as the legal situation. In addition to mere figures, recommendations for action can also be found here.

Education and Participation Package 

Since 2011, the state education and participation package (BuT) has been intended to ensure that children from low-income families receive more support. It is intended to support the financing of sports courses, music lessons or private tuition. However, the application is bureaucratically complex, which means that only about 11 to 15 percent of those entitled use the services according to the Nachhilfeanbieter Studienkreis. Some families are not even aware that such benefits exist. For this reason, the "Studienkreis: Die Nachhilfe" has put together a fact sheet with numbers, facts and studies.

Child Benefit and Co.: An Overview of Family Policy Benefits 

Policymakers have taken a number of measures to support families and reduce the risk of poverty among children - sometimes with uncertain benefits. At last count, the Federal Ministry of Family Affairs counted around 150 family-related benefits; the best-known benefits include, for example, child benefit, child supplement, child bonus, child allowances, parental allowance and the education and participation package. Further information on the benefits can be found here. 

How to talk to children about the terrible news from Ukraine? 

Shocking images of the war in Ukraine are shown in all media. Children and young people see such scenes and usually find it difficult to categorize such images. Now it is important that parents and educators in schools and youth work talk to them and take their fears seriously. With younger children, it is more important not to expose them to gruesome images of war and to answer their questions. Older children from the age of about 12 or 13 can be introduced to politics in a factual way and you can talk to them sensitively about the causes of war, for example, but above all about the suffering of the victims. Also important is the use of age-appropriate news formats (e.g. Logo, Zdf) that present the events in Ukraine professionally for children. More information can be found here.

In the professional information "Working with Children and Adolescents in the Context of the War in Ukraine" of the Paritätischer Gesamtverband, references to factual and age-appropriate information were compiled in order to offer support to professionals in child and youth work, families and adult caregivers in their work.

"Maternity has no gender" campaign 

Motherliness is associated with traditional values that cause women to take on more private and professional care work. The Federal Association of Mothers' Centers wants to change this with its campaign "Motherliness has no gender". The reconciliation of care, household, childcare and work is a task for society as a whole and not a "women's issue". Further information on the campaign can be found here.

Legal entitlement to all-day care for children of primary school age 

From 2026, the legal right to all-day care for children of primary school age will be enshrined in law; this should help to better reconcile family and career.

However, economists from Wuppertal have calculated the costs of this project. The results show that the planned financial support from the federal government will not be sufficient. In addition, some Kommunen are already very well positioned as far as all-day schooling is concerned, but others are not, and they will have to do a lot to meet the legal requirement in the future. For this reason, a project in Frankfurt a.M. is planned to realistically estimate the costs.

The article can be read here.