Frauen Parking 

In a parking garage a few weeks ago, we noticed that there were spots that appeared to be specifically for women only. After a bit of research, we learned that women’s parking spots were first introduced in Germany in 1990 to improve women’s safety and reduce the risk of sexual assault.

In some parts of Germany, these spots must be:

• near the parking facility entrance
• monitored by a security guard or by video surveillance
• near an installed burglar alarm
• 30% of all parking spots must be reserved for women

Following the success in Germany, other countries, like China and South Korea, adopted this parking spot practice.

Originally, the spots were painted pink and larger than a normal spot. People felt this implied women were bad drivers and needed more space.  In response, the German Government said that the closer, bigger spots were so women wouldn’t have to walk as far and would have more room when dealing with kids.