Since when is discrimination forbidden by law in Germany?
 

Discrimination in Germany is forbidden since the

General Equal Treatment Act (AGG) came into force 

AGG ist the German abbreviation for "Allgemeines Gleichbehandlungsgesetz" = General Equal Treatment Act. 
It incorporates into German Law the european directives on equal treatment.

AGG governs the claims and legal consequences in the case of discrimination in the fields of labour and civil law.

The Federal Anti-Discrimination Agency (FADA) was established after AGG entered into force.
Amongst other tasks FADA offers counselling for people who have experienced or observed discrimination.

  (Source: FADA Website)

According to the General Equal Treatment Act (AGG) an "unequal treatment"...:
 

The General Equal Treatment Act uses the term “less favourable treatment”, but not “discrimination”

Not every kind of unequal treatment which causes disadvantage is necessarily discriminatory.
Less favourable treatment is impermissible if it cannot be legally justified.
 
There are exceptional situations, defined by legislation, in which unequal treatment concerning employment and access to goods and services is allowed.

 
(Source: FADA website)

The purpose of the General Act on Equal Treatment is to prevent or to stop discrimination on the grounds of

-> Age
-> Sexual identity
-> Religion / Beliefs
-> Disability and chronic disease
-> Racism / Anti-Semitism / Ethnic Origin
-> Gender and gender identity
-> Further grounds

The majority of the 10,772 counselling requests received by the FADA 2023 concerned discrimination on the ground of 
Ethnic origin, racism and antisemitism
 
  (Source: FADA Website)

Which  discrimination ground ranked second concerning the counselling requests received by The Federal Anti-Discrimination Agency (FADA) 2023?
 

Here you can find the ranking concerning the distribution of the 
counselling requests received by The Federal Anti-Discrimination Agency (FADA) 2023

t3://file?uid=107587

According to FADA enquiries pertaining to discrimination on the ground of race have increased significantly in recent years

  (Source: FADA Website)

According to a survey about “How is your perception of racism in Germany?”, how many people have already come into contact with racism in Germany - through own experiences, observations or descriptions of their environment?
 

Overall, half of the population has already come into contact with racism - through their own experiences, observations or descriptions from their immediate environment.

(Source: Diversity Charter)

According to a survey about “How is your perception of racism in Germany?”, how many people have personal experience of racism in Germany?

More than a fifth of the total population say they have experienced racism themselves.

(Source: Diversity Charter)

According to a survey about “How is your perception of racism in Germany?”, how many people have ever witnessed a racist incident in Germany?

45 percent of respondents have already witnessed a racist incident.

(Source: Diversity Charter)

According to a survey about “How is your perception of racism in Germany?”, what percentage of the German population would recognize that racism exists in Germany?

90 percent of the population recognize that racism exists in Germany.

(Source: Diversity Charter)

According to a survey about “How is your perception of racism in Germany?”, how many percent agree with the statement that people can behave in a racist way without intending to do so?

81 percent agree with the statement that people can behave in a racist way even if they don't mean to.

(Source: Diversity Charter)

According to a survey about “How is your perception of racism in Germany?”, what percentage of respondents would have explicitly contradicted a racist statement at least once in the last 5 years?

Almost half say they have already contradicted a racist statement in everyday life in the past five years. Society is becoming increasingly aware of the problem of racism, and so are companies. Many feel empowered to contradict racist statements in the work context.

(Source: Diversity Charter)

According to a survey about “How is your perception of racism in Germany?”, what percentage of respondents would potentially disagree with a racist statement?

More than a third would potentially disagree with a racist statement. In order for us to live together as equals in a society, it is necessary to continue to sensitize people who would speak out against racist statements.

(Source: Diversity Charter)

Whats’s behind discrimination?

Everyone is prejudiced and uses stereotypes. That’s normal. But prejudice can lead to unequal treatment. 

Watch the video to see how prejudice works and what you can do about it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzEdSdvFLU0 

(Source: Anne Frank House)

Knowledge Check: Jews & Antisemitism in Germany - How many Jews lived in Germany 2020?

Around 94,000 people are members of a Jewish community - whether
orthodox, conservative or liberal.
But not all Jews are religious.
 
(Source: Anne Frank Zentrum - 2020)

Knowledge Check: Jews & Antisemitism in Germany - How often did an antisemitic incident occur in Germany 2020?

Around 1,900 cases were documented in 2020.

Violent assaults and threats, damage to property and incitement to hatred.
That's around 5 incidents per day. Most incidents are not even reported.
The number of unreported cases is very high.

More than a third of the incidents recorded in 2020 took place online. Jewish and Israeli institutions are often affected.
 There were even more antisemitic incidents in public spaces, namely around 40 percent. These include, for example, graffiti, attacks and threats on the street, on buses or trains and in public buildings.

(Source: Anne Frank Zentrum - 2020)

Theodor W. Adorno, a German philosopher, wrote in his Minima Moralia (1951) that “Antisemitism ...

Very few people who have internalized antisemitic prejudices will have actually encountered a Jew in everyday life.
 The problem with antisemitism is that it works without real people.
It builds on ideas about “Jews”, on the “rumor about the Jews”, as Theodor W. Adorno pointedly put it.
 
(Source: Kritische Auseinandersetzung mit
Antisemitismus -Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung)

Talking about gender (in)equality: How big is the gender pay gap - the average percentage pay difference between men and women - in Germany?

Women tend to work in lower-paid jobs than men and are less likely to reach management positions.
They also interrupt their careers more frequently to care for their families and work part-time more and for longer periods of time. All of this also has an impact on pension provision - as a gender pension gap.
 
(Source: Diversity Charter)

According to the Gender Equity Barometer 2024 how many respondents believe that women can’t truly “have it all” (be a good mother and have a career)?

(Source: Gender Equity Barometer 2024)

Gender stereotyping and restrictive gender norms hinder the achievement of real gender equality and feeds into gender discrimination.

The #EndGenderStereotypes campaign of the European Union aims aims to raise awareness about the role gender stereotypes play in society: https://end-gender-stereotypes.campaign.europa.eu/index_en

How often do people experience discrimination - from time to time or often - because of their age?

Here you can find additional information.

Who is the largest group of workers in the labor market?

In this graphic you can see the employment distribution by age group: t3://file?uid=107602

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There is no universally accepted generational classification for the workforce in Germany. However, German employee generations are often divided into the following five groups:

• Post-War Generation (born approx. 1945 to 1955)
• Baby Boomers (born approx. 1956 to 1965)
• Generation X (born approx. 1966 to 1980)
• Generation Y (born approx. 1981 to 1995)
• Generation Z (born approx. 1996 to 2010)

The generational affiliation approach implies a conscious categorization to reduce complexity. In addition to aspects such as life stage, gender, geographic origin, socioeconomic background, or family structure, it offers a complementary explanatory model for the behavior of people of different ages.

However, much of the empirical research on generational differences is not quantitative and often conflates age, generation, or life phase effects.

Generationen-Management • Definition | Gabler Wirtschaftslexikon

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Which generation wishes to reduce its working hours the most?

In this graphic you can see the distribution by age group: t3://file?uid=107603

Why Age Is Particularly Relevant:

• The shortage of skilled workers is increasing – and this is happening across more and more sectors.
• Employees of all ages are in demand.
• In addition to recruitment, retention management is becoming increasingly important.
• This makes it all the more necessary to rethink or eliminate “age hierarchies” in applicant selection and career development.

It is therefore essential to reduce ageism and to take into account the concerns of individuals of all ages during their working life within an organization.

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There is no universally accepted generational classification for the workforce in Germany. However, German employee generations are often divided into the following five groups:

• Post-War Generation (born approx. 1945 to 1955)
• Baby Boomers (born approx. 1956 to 1965)
• Generation X (born approx. 1966 to 1980)
• Generation Y (born approx. 1981 to 1995)
• Generation Z (born approx. 1996 to 2010)

The generational affiliation approach implies a conscious categorization to reduce complexity. In addition to aspects such as life stage, gender, geographic origin, socioeconomic background, or family structure, it offers a complementary explanatory model for the behavior of people of different ages.

However, much of the empirical research on generational differences is not quantitative and often conflates age, generation, or life phase effects.

Generationen-Management • Definition | Gabler Wirtschaftslexikon

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