Equal opportunity policies are widespread in European public administrations, they cover a substantial number of employees and serve as an implicit normative model for corporate equality policies. Yet, these policies have hardly been the object of comparative research. Our paper examines policies for corporate equal opportunity in the federal administration of three „neighbouring countries“ - Switzerland, Germany and Austria. The aim of this comparative analysis is to evaluate the pre-conditions for an effective equal opportunity policymaking by studying the design of their tools and institutions.
We investigate institutions such as Equality Officers, equality plans and gender quotas, as well as the policy tools designed around two central issues, the reconciliation of work and family life and the development of female careers. We draw upon primary and secondary employment data, legal sources, policy documents and expert interviews with gender equality officers, management and HR staff of two to four departments in each country.
The analysis addresses three main questions:
• How does the design of gender equality institutions and specific policy measures for corporate equality influence their implementation?
• To which extent are these policy instruments technically consistent with each other?
• How do the equal opportunity policies of federal administrations fit in the broader national gender equality regimes?
Our comparative analysis shows incremental and modest successes in terms of female employment and careers in all three federal administrations. However, “gender equality” is narrowed down to flexible working conditions, good childcare provision and more women in management positions. Measures are normatively consistent but inherent contradictions between measures and outcomes are not systematically reflected – for instance the discrimination potential at the interplay between part-time work, performance evaluation and career development. The results also hint at the importance of strong coordination, transparent monitoring and differentiated implementation rules for an effective equality policy.
