Equality in relationships: this is important to singles and couples

Equality is currently a hot topic in many areas of society. Whether it's unequal pay in the workplace, career opportunities, or the different shares of care work. Statistics and surveys repeatedly show the unequal status of men and women.

But what about relationships? Do German couples feel equal in their relationships, and what does an equal partnership actually mean?

We got to the bottom of these questions in a recent representative survey. You can read the first part of the exciting results here:

What does equality in a relationship mean to Germans?

We asked both singles and people in relationships what an equal partnership means to them. The most important thing (72 percent) for Germans is equal decision-making. But having the same values and attitudes is also part of an equal partnership for 62 percent of those surveyed.

Interesting: These two characteristics are less important to singles (69 and 58 percent) than to people in a relationship (77 and 67 percent).

In third place, for 49 percent of respondents, is an equal division of household chores and time with the children. On average, this is slightly more important to women and people in relationships than to men and singles.

For less than one in three, equality means the same level of education

Only 38 percent associate a relationship of equals with both partners' jobs and interests being equally important. This topic is also slightly more important to respondents in a relationship and to women than to men or singles.

Similar levels of education and socioeconomic status come in fourth place for respondents, at 26 percent. It is hardly surprising that this issue is significantly more important to academics (35 percent).

The results show that appearance is not everything. For only 15 percent of respondents, an equal partnership on equal terms also means an equal degree of attractiveness. This is slightly more important to men (16 percent) than to women (13 percent). It is also interesting to note that attractiveness is slightly more important for people in a relationship (16 percent) than for the singles surveyed (14 percent).

While equal pay and opportunities for men and women in the workplace is currently a major and much-discussed topic, it seems to play a minor role for respondents when it comes to equal partnerships, with only 10 percent mentioning it.

How has the issue of equality changed in recent years?

We asked study participants whether and how their attitude toward equal partnerships had changed over the past five years. This issue has become significantly more important, especially for younger people and women. While just under one in four 18- to 24-year-olds agree with this statement, only 7 percent of those aged 55 and older do.

Another generational difference is also apparent: younger respondents are twice as likely to say that their attitude toward this issue has changed due to bad experiences in the past. Here, too, women are more affected than men.

In addition, experiences from their social environment and information from the media have also contributed to respondents changing their attitude toward equality.

It's also nice to see that around half of respondents (46 percent) say that equal partnerships have always been important to them.

Women are more likely to take a back seat in relationships

When it comes to looking back on past relationships, it is mainly single women who have had bad experiences. One in three women say they often took a back seat in previous relationships. 22 percent also say they have argued about unequal roles. Among men, less than half as many (15 percent) have taken a back seat in past relationships, and equality in the relationship was also less of a point of contention for them.

In general, men (43 percent) are significantly more satisfied with their past relationships than women (34 percent).

Most people have already been in an equal partnership

Good news: Germans are generally satisfied with their relationships. Almost 70 percent of respondents in our survey say they have already been in an equal partnership. This satisfaction increases with age. And the longer the respondents' relationship has lasted, the more likely they are to have already been in an equal partnership.

While only 39 percent of single women and men whose longest relationship lasted 2-5 months say they have already been in an equal partnership, the figure is significantly higher (72%) among those who have been in a relationship for more than 20 years.

An equal relationship therefore needs time to develop and grow.