Top reasons women engineers should live and work in Berlin

1. Safety for women:

Berlin is ranked within the top 100 safest cities in the world. Definitely better than most metros in India I lived in when it comes to women safety. Way more general public awareness and also culturally Germans respect and demand privacy as a part of the culture.

2. Women Friendly Laws:

Germany strives towards an egalitarian society making progressive women friendly laws. I am a bit of a skeptic so do not believe any city or country is truly egalitarian but the laws are quite progressive which means little struggle for women’s rights. Our sisters have been protesting and fighting for this for a long time. It would be a lie if I would say there’s absolutely no gender bias but there is more awareness and very little gender bias so more freedom for women. 

3. Stable Economy :

In 2016 Germany overtook UK. It’s Europe’s largest economy, and this year it expanded at its fastest rate in five years, showing an impressive growth index of 1.9% to 2.2% year on year.  

4. Unbelievably impressive cost of living:

Compared to the whole of Europe Berlin has a incredible cost of living. You can afford a decent living without burning a hole in your pockets. For example, in Berlin, the cost of living index is 16.27% lower than that of London.

5. Culturally diverse and immigrant friendly:

Berlin is the most diverse, multi-cultural and an immigrant friendly city in Germany. But there is still need for diversity and therefore workplaces need diverse workforces as they want to grow and go global. Employers strive towards good numbers when it comes to gender diversity. Berlin alone has over 2,500 parks! Less pollution compared to big cities in India for instance. The air quality index is good to great. Definitely improves the quality of living exponentially and also attracts many young professionals all over the world because of the art, theatre, culture and party scenes. 

6. Abundant job opportunities:

Berlin has been opening up to the global culture for a while now and is an expanding Silicon Hub in Europe which means there are plenty of job opportunities in IT fields. There is an influx of global companies as the ones wanting to move to Europe are choosing Berlin as their first choice including Tesla which is joining the league very soon.

7. Balanced work culture:

On an average Germany You will not see your manager working till 10 or monitoring you. Flexible working hours for parents with toddlers and definitely is not looked down upon if you leave at 4pm to pick up your kid from the kindergarten. Also, Germans have said to work on an average 35 hours a week which is much less than UK and other European countries except Netherlands.

8. Special Benefits for Parents:

Mothers and fathers can be confident their jobs are protected by the law for as long as their child turns three. Women are entitled to 14 weeks maternity leave with 100% pay, and men also have paternity rights. There are also ‘carry over’ periods. Maternity leaves and extended period of parenting leads to a happy fulfilling life indeed.

9. Job security:

The state enforces an unemployment insurance plan for full-time employees to secure your intermittent periods when you are out of jobs which assures financial independence. If you do not have family and move here alone like I did, the financial support can relieve you from the stress of finding a job quickly. Germany also have strict employee friendly laws to ensure job security for employees after probationary period which makes it harder for companies to fire you. 

10. Little or No German knowledge required:

German proficiency is paramount for easy integration but many workplaces are not stringent about the requirements. That means you almost don’t have to learn to speak German before arriving in Berlin. The companies are also moving towards international culture and English is mostly the business language in the startup scene where you would might to apply. 

If you are woman engineer and seeking a job abroad the chances are way higher that you will land one as the recruiters in Berlin are constantly scouting for good engineers to improve gender diversity. Berlin is a balanced city to work, live and raise children which is an important criteria for mothers and therefore is becoming one of the important startup capitals in the world.

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