The number of male educators in kindergartens has tripled within ten years. As reported by the Federal Statistical Office in Wiesbaden on Tuesday, almost 53,500 men were working in childcare as of March 1, 2022. On the same key date in 2012, this was only 18,000. The proportion of men has almost doubled within ten years from 4.1 percent to 7.9 percent.
The younger the educators are, the higher the proportion of men. While in 2022 12.6 percent of the employees in day care centers under 30 years of age were male, this was only 2.8 percent of the over 50 year olds. The proportion of men among the educators under the age of 20 was highest at 17.9 percent.
As of March 1, 2022, around 681,000 people were directly involved in the educational care of children in day-care facilities. As of March 1, 2022, almost 41,900 people looked after children as childminders, i.e. outside of day-care centers.
There are 24 childminders for every childminder. There are around 40,100 childminders compared to the 1,700 childminders. Although child minders are still very rare, the proportion of men has increased here too – from 2.7 percent in 2012 to 4.1 percent in 2022.
According to the union-affiliated Hans Böckler Foundation, the figures show that women still often work in lower-paid jobs and under poorer conditions. “Because the working conditions in this area are often characterized by overwork and rather low pay,” explained Bettina Kohlrausch from the Institute for Economic and Social Sciences (WSI) of the Hans Böckler Foundation, with a view to childcare.
The underfunding of childcare burdens women in two ways. Those employed in early education tend to have poor working conditions. In addition, all mothers “have to pay for the consequences of the shortage of skilled workers at daycare centers because reliable care is often no longer guaranteed”.
