Gender, Parenthood and Wage Differences: The Importance of Time-Consuming Job Characteristics

Gender gap-Gender-specific development in the field of obstetrics and gynecology in Germany in the last 20 years

Background

Gender Gap refers to differences between men and women in terms of access to medical education, career development, and leadership positions in medical practice and research. Although women now make up most medical school graduates in many countries, they are often underrepresented in higher positions.

Objective

The aim of this study is therefore to analyze the gender-specific development in the field of Obstetrics and Gynecology in Germany over the past 20 years and to survey the current status quo.

Materials and methods

An narrative review was carried out on the development of female graduates of human medicine, the proportion of women in contract medical care and clinical care, as well as the gender-specific evaluation of obtaining a gynecological/obstetric additional qualification. habilitation figures in the field of Obstetrics and Gynecology were evaluated about gender distribution. All data were received from federal institutes.

Results

A total of 46.7% (n = 95,234) of all inpatient doctors were female. A total of 46.7% (n = 95,234) of the physicians in hospitals were female. A total of 46% (1,832/3,958) were the portion of females as assistant physicians, 39.8% (n = 45.551) as specialists, 35.3% (n = 18789) as senior physicians, 25.1% (n = 2394) as first senior physicians and 25% (n = 10) as chief physicians in hospital. A total of 64.6% (n = 3958) of the physicians in Obstetrics and Gynecology were female. A total of 46% (1,832/3,958) were the portion of females as assistant physicians, 64.6% (n = 3958) as specialists, 65.0% (n = 1919) as senior physicians, 26.4% (n = 207) first senior physicians and 25% (n = 10) as chief physicians in Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Discussion

The problem with the gender gap in medicine, does not seem to be access to teaching or starting a residency. But in the functions with increasing responsibility and management functions, e.g., as senior physicians, women are already rarely seen. In Obstetrics and Gynecology, too, there is a shortage of women in leading positions, despite the relatively high numbers, for example as senior physicians. Factors like maternity and establishing a family are points mentioned therefore, but also stereotypes seem to be considerable facts.

Conclusion

However, it is important to recognize the need for more women in higher positions in medicine and actively work to encourage more women to choose a career in medicine.

Protection of gender health and fight against gender violence during the COVID-19 pandemic: the experience of our street clinic in a disadvantaged suburb of Rome Metropolitan City

OBJECT

In this study, we evaluated health, social inequalities and risk to gender violence of women living in a disadvantaged degraded suburb of Rome Metropolitan City, during COVID-19 pandemic.

METHODS

The study included 779 women referring to primary care services of Medicina Solidale Institute for gynecological/breast examinations (209), medical and support aid for the children (383) and COVID-19 test execution (187).

RESULTS

The data show that most women (68%) were unemployed or had an irregular job. The request of support varied depending on the ethnicity: while healthcare support was requested mostly by African female community, the COVID-19 test, mandatory for public transportation and work, was a need of the east-european community. Both these communities referred to Medical Solidale primary care service for the healthcare and food/clothing support for their children. It is interesting to note that the requests from the Italian women community was elevated in terms of personal healthcare, support for the children and COVID-19 test execution. The access to the national health system (NHS) resulted a complex administrative procedure despite the original social-ethnic communities. The vast majority of women lacked awareness of their crucial role for supporting the family entity, while inadequacy was commonly reported.

CONCLUSIONS

This study confirms a critical condition for women living in disadvantaged neighborhoods, whose vulnerability is further worsened by the limited access to primary care assistance with serious consequences for health and quality of life. Prevention and treatment, especially for the most vulnerable subjects, should be a priority for the public health system.

The impact of socio-demographic factors on health-related quality of life after coronary artery bypass surgery

OBJECTIVES

To achieve a beneficial impact on long-term outcome after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), the goal of the present study was the early identification of patients at risk of impaired postoperative health-related quality of life (HRQoL), particularly evaluating the significance of socio-demographic variables.

METHODS

In this prospective, single-centre cohort study of patients having an isolated CABG (January 2004-December 2014), preoperative socio-demographic (preSOC) and preoperative medical variables as well as 6-month follow-up data including the Nottingham Health Profile were analysed in 3,237 patients.

RESULTS

All preSOC (gender, age, marriage and employment) and follow-up (chest pain, dyspnoea) variables proved to have significant influence on HRQoL (P < 0.001), male patients below 60 years being particularly impaired. The effects of marriage and employment on HRQoL are modulated by age and gender. The significance of the predictors of reduced HRQoL differs between the 6 Nottingham Health Profile domains. Multivariable regression analyses revealed explained proportions of variance amounting to 7% for preSOC and 4% for preoperative medical variables.

CONCLUSIONS

The identification of patients at risk of impaired postoperative HRQoL is decisive for providing additional support. This study reveals that the assessment of 4 preoperative socio-demographic characteristics (age, gender, marriage, employment) is more predictive of HRQoL after CABG than are multiple medical variables.

A more equal deal? Employer-employee flexibility, gender and parents’ work-family tensions in Sweden

BACKGROUND: The potential of flexible scheduling to alleviate work-family tensions and replace female part-time work has not been thoroughly explored. Specifically, research has not acknowledged that employees’ schedule control may be conditioned by organizational demands for availability and commitment. OBJECTIVE: We examine the links between flexibility and gendered patterns of work-family reconciliation by considering how work arrangements balance employer demands and employee control and how they relate to work-family tensions. METHODS: Using mixed-methods, we combine a survey of Swedish parents (n = 2320) with interviews of survey respondents (n = 40). First, we identify clusters of flexible work arrangements and explore differences between mothers and fathers. Second, we analyze the relationship between flexible work arrangements and work-family tensions. Finally, the qualitative data are used to explore how flexibility/lack of flexibility enter into parents’ work-family tensions and negotiations. RESULTS: Three types of flexible work arrangements are found. Boundaryless jobs, which combine high levels of control with high requirements for organizational flexibility, are more common among fathers and highly educated. Confined jobs have low levels of both employee- and employer-oriented flexibility, but high demands, and are common among mothers and in female-dominated workplaces. Despite higher levels of control, boundaryless jobs are not associated with less work-family conflict. In malleable jobs, control is relatively high and demands low and work-family tensions are less noticeable. CONCLUSIONS: Employer- and employee-oriented flexibility go hand in hand, but work arrangements differ radically between groups. High flexibility does not alleviate work-family tensions, and part-time work remains an important work-family strategy for mothers.

Fatherhood and wage inequality in Britain, Finland, and Germany

OBJECTIVE

This study investigates whether and how fatherhood shapes the wage distribution in Britain, Finland, and Germany.

BACKGROUND

Existing research debates whether fatherhood is associated with greater wages. However, it remains unclear whether the association between fatherhood and wages varies along the wage distribution as well as institutional contexts. To explore this, we compare three countries that differ in their wage bargaining institutions and family policies.

METHOD

We use unconditional quantile regression on longitudinal data from the 1995 to 2016 waves of the Finnish Linked Employer Employee data, German Socio-Economic Panel, and UK Longitudinal Household Study. To control for selection into fatherhood, we combine quantile regressions with fixed effects techniques.

RESULTS

Results show little evidence of substantial fatherhood wage effects along men's wage distribution. In all countries, fathers' higher wages at the median and top of the wage distribution are mostly accounted for by selection, but fatherhood shifts the bottom part of the distribution to the left particularly in the UK.

CONCLUSIONS

The extent to which having a child affects men's wages across the wage distribution is similar across three diverse policy contexts. Yet, differences across the wage distribution are larger in the UK. We argue this may be linked to its higher level of inequality typical of liberal labour markets.

Health and Social Inequalities in Women Living in Disadvantaged Conditions: A Focus on Gynecologic and Obstetric Health and Intimate Partner Violence

Purpose: Gynecologic and obstetric health and intimate partner violence are particularly influenced by social determinants of health, such as poverty, low education, and poor nutritional status, and by ethnic and racial factors. In this study, we evaluated health and social inequalities of women living in disadvantaged neighborhoods in the city of Rome, Italy.

Methods: The study included 128 women living in socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods. For each woman, a medical record was compiled and a gynecologic examination with screening for cervical cancer was performed. Family network, risk factors for gender-based violence, and psychological abuse were also evaluated.

Results: The largest part of the sample, although had adequate schooling, was unemployed or had a low-status job; this was at the basis of intimate partner violence in about one-third of our sample. Nearly 35% of our sample was composed of pregnant women; about half of them were not assisted by the public health system for routine obstetric examinations. Common findings at gynecologic examination for nonpregnant women were infections (n=18, 19.9%), pregnancy planning (n=13, 13.7%), menopause management (n=12, 12.6%), ovarian fibromas (n=6, 6.3%), and post-partum assistance (n=3, 3.2%). Screening for cervical cancer was executed in 62 women; 9 (14.5%) had low- or high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion or cervical carcinoma.

Conclusions: Health and social inequalities are frequent in women living in disadvantaged conditions, with serious consequences for health and quality of life of women and of their children. Prevention and treatment, especially for the most vulnerable subjects, should be a priority for the public health system.

Financial opportunity costs and deaths among close kin are independently associated with reproductive timing in a contemporary high-income society

Evolutionary demography predicts that variation in reproductive timing stems from socio-ecologically contingent trade-offs between current and future reproduction. In contemporary high-income societies, the costs and benefits of current reproduction are likely to vary by socioeconomic status (SES). Two influential hypotheses, focusing on the parenthood 'wage penalty', and responses to local mortality have separately been proposed to influence the timing of parenthood. Economic costs of reproduction (i.e. income loss) are hypothesized to delay fertility, especially among high childhood SES individuals who experience greater opportunities to build capital through advantageous education and career opportunities. On the other hand, relatively low childhood SES individuals experience higher mortality risk, which may favour earlier reproduction. Here, we examine both hypotheses with a representative register-based, multigenerational dataset from contemporary Finland (N = 47 678). Consistent with each hypothesis, the predicted financial cost of early parenthood was smaller, and mortality among close kin was higher for individuals with lower childhood SES. Within the same dataset, lower predicted adulthood income and more kin deaths were also independently associated with earlier parenthood. Our results provide a robust demonstration of how economic costs and mortality relate to reproductive timing. We discuss the implications of our findings for demographic theory and public policy.

Unemployment and men's entrance into female-dominated jobs

Despite the contraction of many male-dominated occupations, men have made limited progress in entering female-dominated jobs. Using monthly employment histories from the SIPP, we examine whether individual economic conditions-such as a period of unemployment-are associated with men subsequently pursuing female-dominated work. Specifically, we ask whether men are more likely to enter female-dominated jobs after unemployment, compared to men who take a new job directly from employment. We find that unemployment significantly increases the odds of men entering female-dominated work among men who make job transitions. By examining changes in occupational prestige as well as wage differences before and after unemployment, we also find that entering a female-dominated job (compared to other job types) may help men mitigate common scarring effects of unemployment such as wage losses and occupational prestige downgrades. Accordingly, this study reveals a critical occupational route that may allow men to remain upwardly mobile after involuntary unemployment.

Invisible Scars or Open Wounds? The Role of Mid-career Income for the Gender Pension Gap in Sweden

This study investigates the importance of mid-career income for the gender pension gap and psychological scarring effects of low income earlier in life. More specifically we analyse whether women's typically less stable mid-life careers also affect outcomes in late careers and in retirement. Swedish income register data from 1990, 2009, and 2015 was linked to the "HEalth, Ageing, and Retirement Transitions in Sweden" survey. The gender pension gap of 966 retirees and worries about pension income of 2,723 older workers between the age of 60 and 66 years were investigated. Blinder-Oaxaca decompositions were applied to analyse the gender pension gap and linear regressions were used for the analysis of financial worries. Results show that gender differences in mid-career income play a stronger role for the gender pension gap than late career income. Mid-career income is furthermore related to higher worries about pension income and accounts for observed gender differences. Our findings demonstrate that gender gaps in mid-career income can be regarded as an open wound with visible negative effects in older ages. The reformed pension system in Sweden may potentially contribute to an even greater gender gap in pensions.