to take child-raising leave, with a guarantee that he or she could return to the same job. An important point was that individuals on such leave could be employed for 19 hours per week. 121. Thirdly, for pension purposes, in the case of mothers or fathers who looked after their child during his or her first year of life, the 12 months in question were taken into account by the pension authorities as a "child-raising year". 122. Fourthly, the combination of family responsibities and work was facilitated, under the Employment Promotion Act, inter alia, by means of retraining measures. Many benefits provided in that connection depended on whether in the past three years the individual in question had carried out work subject to statutory insurance. In respect of either men or women who had cared for children, the three-year period was extended by a further five-year period to take account of each child cared for. Resumption of employment was thus facilitated following a phase in which the family had been given priority. I • • • -CEDAW/C/SR.l57 English Page 21 (Mrs. Lehr, Federal Republic of Germany) 123. In cases where either a mother or a father was unable, owing to the need to care for a child, to take part in a training course that required his or her presence for the entire day, under the Employment Promotion Act partial maintenance could be drawn during participation in part-time instruction. 124. With the exception of the Protection of Mothers Act, the legal provisions to which she had just referred applied equally to men and women, thus emphasizing that combining family responsibilities and work was not of concern only to women. 125. A point concerning the supply of and demand for places in child-care centres had been raised, in connection with article 11, paragraph 2 (c). Child-care 
**Analysis**
The text appears to be discussing measures and laws related to family and employment, with a focus on supporting parents who need to take time off to care for their children. It highlights the importance of balancing family responsibilities with work and provides examples of how this can be achieved through various provisions, such as flexible working arrangements and partial maintenance during part-time instruction.

**Category**
Employment, Education