attendance was compulsory, and appropriate steps were taken to ensure that the entire population attended school. 102. She wished now to respond to one of the points raised in connection with article 11 of the Convention. It could not be established with any degree of certainty why in the 11-year period from 1975 to 1986 the number of working women had risen by only 268,000, to approximately 9.9 million. No doubt many factors had I • • • CEDAW/C/SR.l57 English Page 17 (Mrs. Lehr, Federal Republic of Germany) played a role. Over the same period, the number of men in employment had even dropped by 1.8 per cent. In just two years, from 1986 to 1988, the number of working women had risen by a further 245,000, reaching the figure of 10,156,000. 103. Once again in connection with article 11 of the Convention, she wished to comment on possibilities for imposing penalties in the event of violations of the prohibition on discrimination in the area of labour legislation. Effective imposition of penalties for discrimination had proved problematic, particularly in the case of the rejection of female job applicants for reasons relating to discrimination. Invoking the European Court of Justice, in the past German labour courts had recognized claims for compensation in excess of those payable under the legal provisions in force. In 1989 the Federal Labour Court had recognized the legal decisions in question in principle. It regarded the rejection of female job applicants owing to bias as a violation of their right of privacy, normally justifying a claim for compensation equivalent to one month's salary. 104. With a view to making safeguards against discrimination in employment more effective, at the end of 1989 the Federal Government had introduced a bill providing for compensation payments equivalent to up to four months' salary. If at 
**Analysis**
The text discusses the employment of women in Germany, specifically the rise in the number of working women and the efforts to prevent discrimination in the labor market. It also touches on the topic of compensation for violations of labor laws. These themes suggest that the category related to employment is the most fitting.

**Category**
Employment