Minijobs - Eine riskante Beschäftigungsform beim normativen Übergang zum "Adult-Worker-Modell"

Based on an analysis of SOEP data, this article shows that in Germany mini-jobs play varying roles in the employment profiles of women. On the one hand, there is the group of married women for whom the mini-job provides additional income to the already sufficient income of the partner. Then there is the group of women for whom the working biography – as a result of mini-jobs – is defined as sporadic and precarious – and not voluntarily chosen. It is here that the considerably negative effects of mini-jobs are most clearly revealed: in income and old-age poverty. In no way do mini-jobs fulfil the criteria of the ‘adult worker model’. In addition, the regulations of unemployment benefit type II (SGB II) contribute to the fact that women more frequently hold mini-jobs. The article proposes that incentive structures for women doing mini-jobs should be critically examined.