(de-news.net) – Half of the ten professions in which the greatest shortage of skilled workers is to be deplored are to be found in economic sectors in which the majority of women are found, according a study by the German Economic Institute that media reports picked up on International Women’s Day. This is the case in childcare and education, in particular. In Germany as a whole, over 20,000 positions in these areas remained “unfilled” last year. According to statistics which the institute referred to, there was an equally large gap in social work and education.

Federal Family Minister Paus (Greens) fears a resurgence of old role models. She said this Friday that in the past, there were fewer gender-specific toys, for example. Toys in pink for girls and light blue for boys are extremely “exaggerated” and reinforces clichés, she pointed out. The trend supports “the idea that this is a girl who can only do social jobs, this is a boy but he has to be really, really tough somehow.” This is not helpful, “neither when it comes to the issue of a shortage of skilled workers” in scientific or mechanical professions – the so-called MINT professions – nor in social professions. “We need both genders in both,” emphasized Paus.

But there are concerning trends in other areas. On a day of action one day before the rights of women were emphasized on the international level, police and public prosecutors in eleven of Germany’s 16 Federal states took action against 45 people accused of misogynistic postings on social media. Measures had already been taken against a further 37 accused, in advance. The postings are of criminal relevance. The President of the Federal Criminal Police Office, Münch, was referred to as saying that harassment and discrimination against women had become becoming more common.