Barriers to voluntary work: Siegen professor visits the Bundestag

Prof. Dr. Chantal Munsch, a social pedagogue and educational scientist from Siegen, presented key findings of the Fourth Volunteering Report to the German Bundestag's Committee on Sport and Volunteering and discussed measures for more equal opportunities in volunteering with members of parliament. As chairwoman of the expert commission, Munsch played a key role in compiling the report entitled "Access opportunities for volunteering".

The hearing focused on the question of why certain social groups are significantly less likely to take part in voluntary activities than others - and what consequences this has for democracy. The report shows that people with low incomes, low levels of education, unemployment or without German citizenship are on average only half as likely to volunteer as more privileged population groups. This inequality affects almost all areas of involvement, from sport, culture and religion to parent representatives in nurseries and schools. The differences are particularly great in board and management positions, i.e. where key decisions are made.

Prof. Munsch made it clear at the hearing that this unequal distribution is not an expression of a lack of motivation, but the result of structural barriers. The commission identified a total of 13 so-called thresholds that make access to volunteering more difficult - including financial burdens, a lack of time flexibility, less outreach to marginalized groups, a lack of accessibility, a lack of space or bureaucratic requirements. "These thresholds mean that many people do not feel invited or able to take on responsibility in the community," explained Munsch The resulting underrepresentation can weaken trust in democratic processes.

In her conclusion, Munsch and her colleague Prof. Dr. Wibke Riekmann emphasize that engagement can only develop its integrative effect if different people have real opportunities to participate: "Politics and civil society must therefore both improve the structural conditions and strengthen new initiatives in which less privileged groups organize themselves. Long-term funding conditions, an expansion of communal meeting places and strong child and youth work that enables participation at an early stage are particularly important."