Rückkehr ins Berufsleben nach familienbedingter Unterbrechung : Befunde der Evaluation der zweiten Förderperiode des ESF-Programms "Perspektive Wiedereinstieg" des Bundesministeriums für Familie, Senioren, Frauen und Jugend

In collaboration with the German Federal Employment Office, the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth has continued the pilot program "Womenś Labour Market Re-entry Perspectives", which is cofinanced by the European Social Fund. The aim of the program is to support the re-entry of women into the labour market after a family-related absence from work of at least three years. The Institute for Employment Research presents an evaluation study of the program that is composed of quantitative and qualitative elements. A first topic of the quantitative study is the process of returning to the labour market, and its supporting and restraining factors. Second, selection into the program is analysed by comparing participating women with a randomly drawn group of women who are registered at the Federal Employment Agency with the aim to re-enter the labour market (typical non-participants). Third, the effectiveness of the program is analysed by comparing participating women with a comparison group of similar women who are registered as searching for a job at the Federal Employment Agency after a family-related break (similar non-participants). Particular attention is given to a re-entry into (nearly) fulltime work and the support women obtain from their partner and household-related services. Main results of the quantitative evaluation are: "High satisfaction with the program: 80 percent of participants are (very) satisfied with the program. In comparison, only 40 percent of similar non-participants are (very) satisfied with their support. Increasing motivation: Before entering the program or registering with the Federal Employment Agenc, the motivation to search for a job was lower among unemployed participants than among typical non-participants. This changed during treatment: Search motivation increased for half of the participants, and for only every third woman of the comparison group. Comparatively high re-entry rates: Overall employment rates of participants are higher (62 percent) than those of the similar non-participants (52 percent). After their re-entry, most women worked parttime. Only six percent (ten percent of those taking up work) of participants and similar non-participants took up fulltime work. Household-related services: Participants of the program use household-related services more often (14 percent) than similar non-participants (7 percent). Reasons for denying such services are lack of demand and financial reasons. Main results of the qualitative implementation study are: An initial re-entry in part-time instead of fulltime work can be more sustainable: Experts working for program providers stress family reasos and the financial situation of the household as important determinants of working hours. Single mothers or divorced women as well as women whose partners are ill or unemployed more often search for full-time work. Highly qualified women often fail to find an adequate part-time job offer. Thus they might be pushed into re-entering the labour market full-time. Furthermore, experts underline the importance of the individual and family situation of women for the re-entry, which have to be taken into account during mentoring. Especially after very long employment breaks, an initial re-entry into part-time work can foster the sustainability of the return to the labour market. Awareness of household-related services should already be encouraged during the process of re-entry: Adherence to traditional gender roles prevents women from using household-related services. As soon as womenś labour market re-entry becomes more imminent, however, their open-mindedness towards household-related services increases. As such services can facilitate the re-entry process itself, experts working for program providers recommend to make use of such services already before the re-entry actually occurs.