Federal Minister of the Interior at BiB • 29.11.2023Nancy Faeser learnt about the Institute's work

As patron of the FReDA data project, Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser is symbolically presented with an umbrella by Prof. Dr. C. Katharina Spieß (left) and Prof. Dr. Martin Bujard. Source: © BiB

The aim of the FReDA data infrastructure project is to improve research and the database on the life situation, life satisfaction and values of families and people in young and middle adulthood and to secure them in the long term. Evaluations from the FReDA survey show that the actual working hours of mothers in Germany are significantly lower than the desired working hours.

Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser: "I am delighted to be visiting the Federal Institute for Population Research today and to be the patron of a flagship project in population research. The long-term FReDA study provides us with important information about the reality of family life. The data shows where the compatibility of family and career needs to be improved, especially for mothers. Not only is there often a huge gap between desire and reality, but there is also a great deal of potential for highly trained women being lost despite the shortage of skilled workers. The long-term study FReDA is an example of the important work of the Federal Institute for Population Research. The BiB's data is of great value both for science and for political action."

Prof. Dr. C. Katharina Spieß, Director of the Federal Institute for Population Research (BiB): "We are very pleased about the Minister's patronage of the FReDA project as well as her interest in the population science research findings of our Institute. The BiB attempts to provide answers to the diverse and complex questions of our time from different perspectives. These include aspects of family formation and migration as well as scientific findings on ageing, education and the labour market.

How much do mothers want to work?

According to the FReDA findings, the gap between mothers' desired and actual working hours grows, especially as soon as the youngest child starts school. The actual working time of mothers whose youngest child is 8 years old is around 23 hours per week, whereas the ideal in the population up to the age of 50 is 30 hours per week. This difference of around seven hours is also evident for mothers with older schoolchildren.

"Closing this gap would free up an enormous potential of skilled workers. FReDA analyses enable us to understand families and the difference between desired and actual working hours and are therefore highly relevant to society," explains Prof. Dr. Martin Bujard, Research Director at BiB and co-responsible for the FReDA study.

With its broad-based questionnaire, the FReDA dataset provides numerous other findings on current topics such as the living situation of Ukrainian refugees in Germany. This results in important findings on language acquisition, the use of care services, integration into the labor market and intentions to stay.

About FReDA

The long-term study „Family Research and Demographic Analysis“ (FReDA) is a representative family demographic repeat survey. In the research data infrastructure project, which has been running since 2020, over 30,000 participants aged 18 to 49 are comprehensively surveyed twice a year about their individual life situation and their attitudes towards partnership and family life. The study is a cooperation project with the GESIS Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences and the University of Cologne. The project was recently assessed very positively by an evaluation commissioned by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).