Preferred working time models and equal opportunities in gynecology and obstetrics: a sub-analysis of the trinational FARBEN survey focusing on German participants from Western and Eastern federal states.

Objective: The aim of this study was a sub-analysis of the FARBEN survey to compare the preferences and responses of participants from the Eastern and Western German federal states and to identify potential differences.

Material and methods: The preferences of the German participants from the respondents in the tri-national FARBEN study were analyzed. Participation was voluntary and anonymous. The questionnaire consisted of 62 questions covering topics such as the workplace in general, work-time models, and professional goals. In the present study, only the data of the participants working in Germany were analyzed.

Results: The sub-group consisted of 1,021 out of the total of 1,364 (74.85%) respondents for the FARBEN survey. Of these, 855 (83.7%) responses were from participants from the Western federal states, and 166 (16.3%) from the Eastern federal states. Gynecologists in the East generally became parents at a younger age (29.3 vs. 30.8 years) and the rate of childlessness was higher among gynecologists in the West (54.8% vs. 37.0%). In the West, full-time work was both more frequently preferred (13.0% vs. 5.4%) and practiced (52.1% vs. 41.5%).

Conclusion: Many family policy aspects of the former German Democratic Republic facilitated and continues to facilitate the compatibility of work and family life for mothers in the East. Historical perspectives can be helpful in implementing improvements for women in terms of work-family balance in a female-dominated medical field such as gynecology.