Germany

The paper discusses the implications of recent advances in artificial intelligence for knowledge workers, focusing on possible complementarities and substitution between machine translation tools and language professionals. The emergence of machine translation tools could enhance social welfare through enhanced opportunities for inter-language communication but also create new threats because of persisting low levels of accuracy and quality in the translation output. The paper uses data on online job vacancies to map the evolution of the demand for language professionals between 2015 and 2019 in 10 countries and illustrates the set of skills that are considered important by employers seeking to hire language professionals through job vacancies posted on line.

New OECD surveys of employers and workers in the manufacturing and finance sectors of seven countries shed new light on the impact that Artificial Intelligence has on the workplace —an under-researched area to date due to lack of data. The findings suggest that both workers and their employers are generally very positive about the impact of AI on performance and working conditions. However, there are also concerns, including about job loss—an issue that should be closely monitored. The surveys also indicate that, while many workers trust their employers when it comes to the implementation of AI in the workplace, more can be done to improve trust. In particular, the surveys show that both training and worker consultation are associated with better outcomes for workers.

This report is the first country review undertaken as part of the OECD work on LGBTI+ inclusion. It explores legal and policy progress towards LGBTI+ equality in Germany at both the national and subnational levels, and identifies good practices. The report first investigates the life situation of LGBTI+ Germans by presenting the most up-to-date data on the share of Germans who self-identify as LGBTI+, evaluating the extent to which LGBTI+ Germans face discrimination and violence, and assessing how this population fares in terms of well-being, mental and physical health. The report then examines whether laws critical to achieving LGBTI+ equality have been passed and how LGBTI+ equality in Germany could be further improved through legislation. Finally, beyond laws, the report focuses on policy achievements towards LGBTI+ equality, by distinguishing between remedial policies, aimed at enforcing antidiscrimination and anti-violence laws, and preventive policies, aimed at fostering a culture of equal treatment of LGBTI+ individuals at school, in the workplace, and in healthcare.

Being able to swim empowers individuals to make choices, have agency, and be free to choose core aspects of their life, such as working safely on or near water. It is also associated with lifelong health benefits and reduces the risk of drowning. Using data from the Lloyd’s Register Foundation World Risk Poll 2019, this paper provides the first global estimates of adults’ ability to swim without assistance. Individuals in high-income countries are considerably more likely to report being able to swim without assistance than individuals in low-income countries. Disparities also exist within countries. In particular, women are less likely to be able to swim without assistance than men in virtually all countries, birth cohorts, and levels of education. Investing in reducing inequalities in life skills, such as swimming, can foster economic development and empowerment, especially in light of threats, such as climate change.

This review contributes to a better understanding of the gender wage gap in Germany and puts forward key elements of a policy package to reduce gender pay gaps. It provides a detailed analysis of the role of firms in the gender wage gap by focusing on the pay gap between similarly skilled men and women between and within firms. The within-firm component captures differences in pay between men and women within firms related to differences in tasks and responsibilities, or differences in pay for work of equal value (e.g. bargaining, discrimination). The between-firm component captures the role of differences in pay between firms (unrelated to workforce composition) due to the tendency of women to work in low-wage firms. The review analyses gender differences in job mobility and the earnings consequences of career breaks following childbirth to shed light on the evolution of the gender wage gap across the working life. To put results for Germany in context, they are systematically benchmarked to those of four nearby countries (i.e. Denmark, France, the Netherlands and Sweden). The policy discussion extends the empirical analysis by putting forward a comprehensive policy package with an emphasis on policies targeted at firms.

Thriving middle classes are the backbone of democratic societies and strong economies, but in many countries, they face mounting pressure as their economic strength is eroding relative to higher-income households. Real wages and incomes for most middle-class households have grown only very slowly, and rising expenditures have been putting further pressure on living standards. Meanwhile, globalisation, digitalisation, and demographic change are eroding job opportunities for middle-skilled workers, who risk sliding into lower-paid employment. The COVID-19 crisis has accentuated socio-economic divides and may end up accelerating some of the above trends. This publication builds upon the OECD’s publications on the middle class (Under Pressure: The Squeezed Middle Class) and social mobility (A Broken Social Elevator? How to Promote Social Mobility). It demonstrates that the German middle class is similar in size as in peer countries, but substantially smaller than it was in the mid-1990s. Lower middle‑class households face an increased risk of slipping out of the middle; meanwhile, upward mobility into the middle has declined, particularly for workers in 'typical' middle-class occupations. Employment growth forecasts point to further occupational polarisation. The review proposes policy options for strengthening the employability of middle-class workers, creating good-quality, future-oriented jobs, and boosting middle‑class disposable incomes.

Social protection systems use a range of entitlement criteria. First-tier support typically requires contributions or past employment in many countries, while safety net benefits are granted on the basis of need. In a context of volatile and uncertain labour markets, careful and continuous monitoring of the effectiveness of income support is a key input into an evidence-based policy process. This paper proposes a novel empirical method for monitoring the accessibility and levels of safety net benefits. It focusses on minimum-income benefits (MIB) and other non-contributory transfers and relies on data on the amounts of cash support that individuals in need receive in practice. Results show that accessibility and benefit levels differ enormously across countries – for instance, in 2015/16, more than four out of five low-income workless one-person households received MIB in Australia, France and the United Kingdom, compared to only one in five in Greece, Italy and Korea, three countries that have since sought to strengthen aspects of safety-net provisions.

People in many countries, especially advanced countries, are expressing growing discontent about globalisation. They feel that its benefits have accrued mostly to a small and already well-off segment of the population. In addition, many citizens are dissatisfied with the way economic integration has been advanced. They complain about too little transparency and too many conflicts of interests between policy makers and firms. Several of the negative effects feeding the discontent have more to do with technological change than with globalisation per se, but the two are closely intertwined. Moreover, the policies put in place to alleviate negative impacts of economic openness on some groups, industries and regions have not always worked as intended, and global rule-making has not kept up with reality. Given its many benefits, reversing economic integration is not a solution. Rather, we need to find ways to make it work for all. This report sets out what needs to be done to advance a fairer and more inclusive globalisation – at the global level, at the European level and within Germany.

This review introduces the background to and issues at stake in promoting equal partnerships in families in Germany.  It encourages German policy makers to build on the important reforms since the mid-2000s to enable both fathers and mothers to have careers and children, and urges families to 'dare to share'. To those ends it places Germany’s experience in an international comparison, and draws from the experience in, for example, France and the Nordic countries which have longstanding policies to support work-life balance and strengthen gender equality. The review starts with an overview chapter also explaining why and how equal sharing pays for families, children, the economy and society as a whole. The book presents current outcomes, policy trends, as well as detailed analysis of the drivers of paid and unpaid work and how more equal partnerships in families may help sustain fertility rates.  The book examines policies to promote partnership, looking both at persistent shortcomings and progress achieved through reform since the mid-2000s. The book includes a set of policy recommendations designed to enable parents to share work and family responsibilities more equally.