Achieving gender balance with legal instruments

Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg is the public service broadcaster covering the two German states Berlin and Brandenburg. For the last 30 years Berlin has made achieving a 50:50 gender balance in the workplace a priority. Mandated by Berlin’s Equal Opportunities Act (Landesgleichstellungsgesetz Berlin, LGG Bln), which apllies for RBB. The law requires all state institutions to guarantee equal treatment of men and women with legal instruments providing for women’s advancement. Specifically the law provides for targeted professional advancement of women; the improvement of access to and promotion opportunities for women; proportional increases for women in areas of work in which they are underrepresented; a good work-life balance for men and women, and targeted actions to reduce any remaining practices that disadvantage women.

Progress reporting is mandatory and RBB implements a robust measuring and reporting mechanism to ensure the rules are not broken. All entities within the organization must report on gender equality and measure the number of women in employment, their roles and how they are progressing within the entity. Within this regulatory framework, RBB has implemented a raft of measures to support the organization’s equality drive.