Even though Figures 4.2 and 4.3 take a cross-sectional perspective and consider women of different ages only in a given year, the implication is that once women in Germany work part-time they do not resume full-time employment. Indeed, they appear to be stuck in a “part-time trap”. Inactivity is widespread, particularly among older women, suggesting that once they are out of employment it is difficult to return to work. Figure 4.3 shows a correspondingly wide gender gap in working hours across all ages in the overall working-age population (right-hand panel).