Association of Working Mothers

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Logo VBM

The Association of Working Mothers is a German interest group that was founded by working mothers and sees itself as a lobby for women who work with children. It includes both self-employed and employees. Through various activities such as regional and supraregional meetings and campaigns, lectures, press and public relations work, cooperation with other networks and institutions, publications, web portal and telephone advice, he dedicates himself in various ways to the topic of work-life balance .

The association was founded in 1990 in Cologne , where the federal office is also located. At the beginning of 2012, the association said it had around 550 members. In contrast to other interest groups of working women such as the Association of Business and Professional Women (BPW), the European Women's Management Development International Network (EWMD) or the WeiberWirtschaft , which also represent childless people without distinction , the VBM focuses on the interests of working mothers . According to the statutes, membership is only possible for women, but is not tied to motherhood or gainful employment: “Any woman who recognizes the principles of the association, affirms its goals and promotes their achievement can be a member”.

aims

The purpose of the statutes is to “take initiatives and implement measures that serve to improve the situation of working mothers in a current, preventive and fundamental way”.

In particular, the association pursues the following objectives:

In the media, representatives of the VBM are occasionally asked to speak about their view of the career opportunities of mothers. The association emphasizes that problems of reconciling family and work are often reinterpreted as personal problems instead of being recognized as structural obstacles.

The women form a network among themselves that also cooperates with other networks with related content. The participants also see themselves as contact persons for like-minded people. The VBM works in particular with the Väter-Expert-Netz-Deutschland (VEND) through joint theme evenings .

activities

The VBM is represented in numerous political bodies, cooperates with other associations and initiatives and speaks out in the press. Together with many other social groups, the VBM draws attention to the need for gender equality , for example on the occasion of International Women's Day on March 6th. The association is also active at the local political level.

In May 2006 the Business and Professional Women Club Berlin, the VBM and the Club Berlin eV invited leading representatives from schools and science to a panel discussion on selected concepts for the school and education system. The women's network Business and Professional Women Germany organized an international symposium in Berlin on the compatibility of family and work in September 2007 in cooperation with the VBM and the Väter -exp-Netz-Deutschland (VEND) . The symposium was under the patronage of Hans Bertram, the chairman of the Expert Commission of the Seventh Family Report . In October 2008, also in Berlin, a workshop on the situation of parents in the world of work was held by the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung , the VBM and the VEND.

Susanne Janeba, board member and initiator of the VBM regional office Rhein-Neckar, received the “Support Women” award from the Business and Professional Women network in December 2008 for her role model and her outstanding voluntary commitment to working mothers in the metropolitan region.

In November 2008 the VBM was accepted into the German Women's Council . Furthermore, the VBM is organized in the state women's council of North Rhine-Westphalia, as well as in the state working group of the family associations of North Rhine-Westphalia and many working groups of local women's associations. There are cooperations with other associations, for example with the Catholic Family Association in North Rhine-Westphalia. The VBM regularly participates in state and federal women's conferences.

The VBM has (as of 2012) 27 independent regional offices in German cities.

Opinions

In January 2006, the association commented on the Genshagen resolutions drawn up by the federal government in a closed meeting and highlighted better tax deductibility of childcare costs as a step towards more family friendliness. In 2007, 16 associations, including the VBM, issued a joint statement calling for 16 associations to overcome spouse splitting and not to expand it into family splitting , but to introduce individual taxation with a transferable basic tax allowance and a legal right to early childhood education from birth, as well as to develop livelihoods for children. In a press release on the occasion of International Women's Day on March 8, 2009, the association called for equal opportunities for mothers through changes in the care and educational infrastructure through a full-time education system, a departure from the “full-time dogma” in the world of work, an egalitarian division of tasks in the family and abolition of spouse splitting.

The association took a critical position on the law on early education and support for children (KiBiZ) in accordance with the government draft to be introduced into the state parliament on June 14, 2007. The VBM supports the German Women's Council in its criticism of the current form of parental allowance due to a lack of support for a partnership-based division of care and upbringing tasks in the form of simultaneous part-time work for both parents. In a statement on the coalition agreement between the CDU, CSU and FDP , the VBM criticized in particular the calculation of partial parental allowance, which contradicts Article 6, Paragraph 1 of the Basic Law, since well-paid parents are granted very different funding depending on how they divide their family commitments over time : So it is not clear why partners who alternately receive full parental allowance receive a particularly high total subsidy, while partners who simultaneously work half the time receive a comparatively low total subsidy.

At the municipal level, the VBM spoke out in open letters in favor of free childcare in Cologne and opposed a "massive" increase in parental contributions for day-care facilities in Munich   and Bergisch Gladbach  . On the occasion of ongoing strikes in day-care centers, the association emphasized the legal right to a day-care center place and criticized the considerable impact of the actions on working parents and their children, but at the same time described the demands of parents for higher salaries as justified and emphasized the importance of high-quality childcare. In 2007, the VBM demanded that additional trade tax income be used for childcare and education, and at the same time emphasized the priority of time freedom for the family over expectations of the economy for flexibility and availability of parents.

In 2009, the VBM made the all-day school expansion the theme of the year and took a position for an all-day school in which the compulsory lessons are distributed in rhythmic form over the morning and afternoon. In his statement on the coalition agreement, he emphasized the divergence between child benefit and child allowance increases as well as negative incentives against parental leave at the same time as partners. In the opinion of the VBM, the latter represent unequal treatment for no objective reason, which violates Article 6 (1) of the Basic Law, which protects the free decision on the division of tasks in marriage.

On the occasion of Equal Pay Day 2014, the VBM spoke out in favor of abolishing mini and mid-jobs .

Publications

  • VBM Jungle Book - Guide for Working Mothers, 9th edition - June 2011, (extract from the website).
  • Regular newsletters on current political and social issues.
  • Working papers and thesis papers (via the website), e.g. B. on family-friendly businesses, equal opportunities at work, uninterrupted employment, taxes and modern all-day schools.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Articles of Association (version of June 8, 2008). (PDF; 39 kB) Association of Working Mothers (VBM), accessed on January 6, 2009 .
  2. ↑ Career trap maternity leave. faz.net, March 8, 2008, accessed January 11, 2009 .
  3. ↑ Katja Winckler: Escape the Baby Trap. BerlinerAkzente.de, archived from the original on January 24, 2010 ; Retrieved January 11, 2009 .
  4. ↑ Juliane Lutz: Career mothers: All or not at all? Handelsblatt.com, February 17, 2008, accessed January 7, 2009 .
  5. ↑ Sabine Hildebrandt-Woeckel: Career trap maternity leave. In: fazjob.net, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. March 8, 2008, accessed January 7, 2009 .
  6. ↑ Success factor network - Association of Working Mothers (VBM). emotion.de, archived from the original on October 24, 2006 ; Retrieved January 9, 2009 .
  7. ↑ Equal rights yes - but often not for mothers. In: Statements. Association of working mothers, August 28, 2008, archived from the original on January 12, 2014 ; Retrieved November 9, 2009 .
  8. ↑ Equal rights yes - but often not for mothers. Work-life balance. (No longer available online.) Verlag Dashöfer, formerly in the original ; Retrieved January 10, 2009 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.dashoefer.de  
  9. ^ Nadine Oberhuber: Working mothers. In: Brigitte Woman 8/2007. brigitte.de, archived from the original on June 8, 2008 ; Retrieved January 10, 2009 .
  10. ↑ A network for top mothers. ngz-online, September 16, 2008, accessed January 10, 2009 .
  11. ↑ See, for example, stronger together - fathers also fight for a work-life balance. Themed evening of the Association of Working Mothers. (No longer available online.) In: Themaabend Berlin-Mitte, Victress News January / February 2008. March 12, 2008, formerly in the original ; Retrieved January 11, 2009 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.victress.de  
  12. ↑ "My mom at work". pressbot.de, March 7, 2006, accessed January 10, 2009 .
  13. ↑ Baby break: Maintain networks to prevent “mother bullying”. rhein-zeitung.de, March 7, 2008, accessed January 10, 2009 .
  14. ↑ Panel discussion - School of the future. May 17, 2006. Business and Professional Women Club Berlin eV, accessed January 8, 2009 .
  15. ↑ 170 participants from ten countries exchange ideas on solution strategies for a better work-life balance. Business and Professional Women Germany, accessed January 8, 2009 .
  16. ↑ More appreciation for mothers and fathers! How can we change the image of parents in the world of work? - Workshop, 7./8. October 2008, Berlin. (PDF; 255 kB) Politics and Society Forum, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung , accessed on January 7, 2009 .
  17. ↑ Do not plan a "career B". Promoting women 2008 - Business and Professional Women honor Susanne Janeba for her commitment to working mothers. BPW Mannheim-Ludwigshafen, December 6, 2008, accessed on January 9, 2009 .
  18. ↑ Our cooperation partners in NRW. Family union of Catholics in North Rhine-Westphalia, archived from the original on September 6, 2005 ; Retrieved January 11, 2009 .
  19. ↑ The vbm on the Genshagen resolutions: Steps in the right direction. Press release Association of Working Mothers. openPR, January 25, 2006, accessed January 6, 2009 .
  20. ↑ We need a policy that encourages all children. Frankfurter Rundschau online, May 15, 2007, archived from the original on December 2, 2008 ; Retrieved October 10, 2009 .
  21. ↑ VBM calls for equal rights for mothers in the world of work and family. In: press release. openPR, March 16, 2009, accessed November 9, 2009 .
  22. ^ Statement of the Association of Working Mothers eV on the Law on Early Education and Promotion of Children (Child Education Act - KiBiz). (PDF) Retrieved January 6, 2009 .
  23. ↑ Public hearing Act on the Early Education and Promotion of Children (Child Education Act - KiBiz) - Fourth Act for the Implementation of the Child and Youth Welfare Act - SGB VIII Drs. 14/4410. Questionnaire. Retrieved January 10, 2009 .
  24. ↑ Parental allowance: improvements necessary ( memento from September 18, 2012 in the web archive archive.today )
  25. ↑ comments from the Confederation of working mothers eV Koalisitionsvertrag of CDU, CSU and FDP. In: press release. openPR, November 9, 2009, accessed November 9, 2009 .
  26. ↑ Free childcare for all children. Press release Association of Working Mothers. openPR, June 12, 2006, accessed January 8, 2009 .
  27. ↑ Massive expansion of day-care centers YES - massive fee increases NO. Press release Association of Working Mothers. openPR, June 28, 2006, accessed January 8, 2009 .
  28. ↑ Bergisch-Gladbach: Massive fee increases no. Press release Association of Working Mothers. openPR, August 15, 2006, accessed January 8, 2009 .
  29. ↑ Strike in daycare centers: working mothers protest. Press release Association of Working Mothers. openPR, April 5, 2006, accessed January 9, 2009 .
  30. ↑ When the day care center strikes: working parents are hardly old ( memento from February 12, 2013 in the web archive archive.today )
  31. ↑ Working mothers demand: Use additional trade tax income for care and education. Press release Association of Working Mothers. openPR, January 19, 2007, accessed January 10, 2009 .
  32. ↑ New board of directors at the Verband berufstätiger Mütter eV - "The all-day school expansion is our top topic for 2009" . openpr.de, March 16, 2009, accessed June 2, 2011.
  33. ↑ Statement by the Association of Working Mothers (VBM) on the coalition agreement between the CDU, CSU and FDP (PDF; 390 kB), openpr.de, November 9, 2009, accessed June 2, 2011
  34. ↑ Abolish mini-jobs - equate all employment relationships subject to social security contributions. (PDF, 4.5 MB) VBM, March 20, 2014, accessed on March 29, 2014 .
  35. ↑ VBM Jungle Book - Guide for working mothers and those who want to become one. Information page. openPR, archived from the original on June 7, 2012 ; Retrieved January 27, 2012 .