Kinder, Arbeitswelt & Erwerbschancen: Fertilität und Beschäftigung – work life balance der Frauen in Österreich aus ökonomischer Sicht

Die in den letzten Jahren gleichzeitig gestiegene Fertilität und Erwerbstätigkeit der Frauen deutet auf ein neues Nebeneinander von Familie und Beruf hin. Obwohl in der Kleinkindphase zwei Drittel aller Frauen zu Hause bleiben, ist bereits mit Ende der Karenzzeit die Erwerbstätigkeit wieder hoch und steigt dann mit dem Alter der Kinder. Die Möglichkeit einer Teilzeit-Erwerbstätigkeit erleichtet die Vereinbarkeit von Beruf und Privatleben. Analog zu der im internationalen Vergleich beobachteten Zunahme der Teilzeit beobachtet man auch in Österreich in den letzten Jahren ein starkes Ansteigen der Teilzeit. Ebenso steigt der Anteil der Teilzeit-Erwerbstätigkeit mit der Zahl der Kinder, sodass sie als familienfreundliche Erwerbsform an Bedeutung gewonnen hat. Die gesetzlichen Neuregelungen zu Karenz und Kinderleistungen ermöglichen eine individuelle Gestaltung der Kleinkindphase. Kinderbetreuungsgeld und Elternteilzeit, sowie die Zuverdienstmöglichkeiten fördern die Erreichung einer work life balance der Familien, deren Beitrag zum gesellschaftlichen Wohlstand mit der beobachteten Bevölkerungsalterung wieder in den Mittelpunkt des staatlichen Interesses gerückt ist

Energiewende und Arbeitsmarkt. Fachkräftepotenziale von Frauen und Migrant:innen in der Lehrberufsgruppe „Elektrotechnik/Elektronik“

Für die Energiewende wird eine große Anzahl an Fachkräften mit einem technischen Lehrabschluss benötigt. Diese Nachfrage kann in Österreich durch das derzeitige Fachkräfteangebot nicht gedeckt werden. In der Lehrberufsgruppe (LBG) „Elektrotechnik/Elektronik“, die für die Energiewende besonders relevant ist, ist die Anzahl der Lehrlinge von rund 13.100 (2011) auf rund 10.800 im Jahr 2022 gesunken (WKO, 2023a) und entspricht in etwa dem allgemeinen Trend für alle Lehrberufsgruppen. Dies ist einerseits auf die demografische Entwicklung, andererseits auf Faktoren wie beispielsweise das zunehmende Streben nach höheren Bildungsabschlüssen bzw. das Image der Lehre zurückzuführen. Frauen sind in technischen Lehrberufen, insbesondere in solchen mit Bezug zur Energiewende − wie der LBG „Elektrotechnik/Elektronik“ −, stark unterrepräsentiert. Der Anteil der Migrant:innen (Personen ohne österreichische Staatsbürgerschaft) in „Elektrotechnik/Elektronik“ entsprach im Jahr 2022 etwa dem berufsübergreifenden Durchschnitt. Allerdings sind die Anteile der Lehrabbrüche und der negativen Lehrabschlussprüfungen unter den Migrant:innen höher als jene der Lehrlinge mit österreichischer Staatsbürgerschaft. Bei Frauen kommt es in der LBG „Elektrotechnik/Elektronik“ auch häufiger zu Lehrabbrüchen als bei männlichen Lehrlingen (WKO, 2023a). Ausbildungs- und Berufswahl sind hochkomplexe Prozesse, die neben den Tätigkeitsprofilen der einzelnen Berufe von Faktoren wie z. B. den (gesetzlichen) Rahmenbedingungen, der individuellen Ausbildungs- und Berufsorientierung, den Arbeitsbedingungen oder der sozialen Herkunft beeinflusst werden. Um mehr Frauen und Migrant:innen für technische Lehrberufe zu gewinnen, ihren erfolgreichen Lehrabschluss und sodann ihren Verbleib im erlernten Lehrberuf zu fördern, bedarf es effektiver Maßnahmen der Betriebe, der Interessenvertretungen und der öffentlichen Hand. Diese betreffen insbesondere die folgenden Bereiche: Information/Orientierung, Sensibilisierung, Attraktivierung der Lehrberufe, Unterstützung (z. B. Lernhilfe, Coaching, Mentoring), finanzielle Förderungen, Arbeitsorganisation/-flexibilität, Ausbau der Betreuungsinfrastruktur (Kinder, Ältere) und Weiterbildungsmöglichkeiten. The energy transition requires a large number of skilled workers with a technical apprenticeship qualification. This demand cannot be met by the current supply of skilled workers in Austria. Especially in the occupational field „Electrical engineering / electronics”, which is particularly relevant for the energy transition, the number of apprentices has fallen from around 13,100 (2011) to around 10,800 in 2022 (WKO, 2023a) and corresponds approximately to the general trend for all occupational fields. On the one hand, this is due to demographic developments, on the other hand it is due to factors such as increasing interest in higher educational qualifications or the image of apprenticeship. Looking at specific groups we noticed that women are strongly underrepresented in technical apprenticeship occupations, especially in fields related to the energy transition, such as „Electrical engineering / electronics”. The proportion of migrants – persons without Austrian citizenship – in the field „Electrical engineering / electronics” in 2022 was about the same as the average for all occupations. However, the share of apprenticeship drop-outs and negative final apprenticeship examinations are higher among migrants than among apprentices with Austrian citizenship. Female apprentices also have higher drop-out rates than male apprentices in the field „Electrical engineering / electronics” (WKO, 2023a). Educational and career choices are highly complex processes that are influenced not only by the profiles of individual occupations, but also by factors such as (legal) framework conditions, individual educational- and career orientation, working conditions or social background. With the aim to attract more women and migrants to technical apprenticeships, to promote their successful graduation and to encourage them to stay in the occupation according to their qualification, effective measures by companies, advocacy groups of enterprises and of employees as well as by the government on national and regional level are needed. These relate to the following areas: Information/orientation, awareness-raising, enhancing the attractiveness of apprenticeships, various kinds of assistance (e. g. learning assistance, coaching, mentoring), financial support, organization and flexibility of work, deployment of care infrastructure (children, older people) and further training opportunities

Male breast cancer in BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers : pathology data from the Consortium of Investigators of Modifiers of BRCA1/2

Background: BRCA1 and, more commonly, BRCA2 mutations are associated with increased risk of male breast cancer (MBC). However, only a paucity of data exists on the pathology of breast cancers (BCs) in men with BRCA1/2 mutations. Using the largest available dataset, we determined whether MBCs arising in BRCA1/2 mutation carriers display specific pathologic features and whether these features differ from those of BRCA1/2 female BCs (FBCs). Methods: We characterised the pathologic features of 419 BRCA1/2 MBCs and, using logistic regression analysis, contrasted those with data from 9675 BRCA1/2 FBCs and with population-based data from 6351 MBCs in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. Results: Among BRCA2 MBCs, grade significantly decreased with increasing age at diagnosis (P = 0.005). Compared with BRCA2 FBCs, BRCA2 MBCs were of significantly higher stage (P for trend = 2 x 10(-5)) and higher grade (P for trend = 0.005) and were more likely to be oestrogen receptor-positive [odds ratio (OR) 10.59; 95 % confidence interval (CI) 5.15-21.80] and progesterone receptor-positive (OR 5.04; 95 % CI 3.17-8.04). With the exception of grade, similar patterns of associations emerged when we compared BRCA1 MBCs and FBCs. BRCA2 MBCs also presented with higher grade than MBCs from the SEER database (P for trend = 4 x 10(-12)). Conclusions: On the basis of the largest series analysed to date, our results show that BRCA1/2 MBCs display distinct pathologic characteristics compared with BRCA1/2 FBCs, and we identified a specific BRCA2-associated MBC phenotype characterised by a variable suggesting greater biological aggressiveness (i.e., high histologic grade). These findings could lead to the development of gender-specific risk prediction models and guide clinical strategies appropriate for MBC management.Peer reviewe

Refined histopathological predictors of BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation status: A large-scale analysis of breast cancer characteristics from the BCAC, CIMBA, and ENIGMA consortia

Introduction: The distribution of histopathological features of invasive breast tumors in BRCA1 or BRCA2 germline mutation carriers differs from that of individuals with no known mutation. Histopathological features thus have utility for mutation prediction, including statistical modeling to assess pathogenicity of BRCA1 or BRCA2 variants of uncertain clinical significance. We analyzed large pathology datasets accrued by the Consortium of Investigators of Modifiers of BRCA1/2 (CIMBA) and the Breast Cancer Association Consortium (BCAC) to reassess histopathological predictors of BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation status, and provide robust likelihood ratio (LR) estimates for statistical modeling. Methods: Selection criteria for study/center inclusion were estrogen receptor (ER) status or grade data available for invasive breast cancer diagnosed younger than 70 years. The dataset included 4,477 BRCA1 mutation carriers, 2,565 BRCA2 mutation carriers, and 47,565 BCAC breast cancer cases. Country-stratified estimates of the

Associations of common breast cancer susceptibility alleles with risk of breast cancer subtypes in BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers

Introduction: More than 70 common alleles are known to be involved in breast cancer (BC) susceptibility, and several exhibit significant heterogeneity in their associations with different BC subtypes. Although there are differences in the association patterns between BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers and the general population for several loci, no study has comprehensively evaluated the associations of all known BC susceptibility alleles with risk of BC subtypes in BRCA1 and BRCA2 carriers. Methods: We used data from 15,252 BRCA1 and 8,211 BRCA2 carriers to analyze the associations between approximately 200,000 genetic variants on the iCOGS array and risk of BC subtypes defined by estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) and triple-negative- (TN) status; morphologic subtypes; histological grade; and nodal involvement. Results: The estimated BC hazard ratios (HRs) for the 74 known BC alleles in BRCA1 carriers exhibited moderate correlations with the corresponding odds ratios from the general population. However, their associations with ER-positive BC in BRCA1 carriers were more consistent with the ER-positive as

Mutational spectrum in a worldwide study of 29,700 families with BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations.

The prevalence and spectrum of germline mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 have been reported in single populations, with the majority of reports focused on White in Europe and North America. The Consortium of Investigators of Modifiers of BRCA1/2 (CIMBA) has assembled data on 18,435 families with BRCA1 mutations and 11,351 families with BRCA2 mutations ascertained from 69 centers in 49 countries on six continents. This study comprehensively describes the characteristics of the 1,650 unique BRCA1 and 1,731 unique BRCA2 deleterious (disease-associated) mutations identified in the CIMBA database. We observed substantial variation in mutation type and frequency by geographical region and race/ethnicity. In addition to known founder mutations, mutations of relatively high frequency were identified in specific racial/ethnic or geographic groups that may reflect founder mutations and which could be used in targeted (panel) first pass genotyping for specific populations. Knowledge of the population-specific mutational spectrum in BRCA1 and BRCA2 could inform efficient strategies for genetic testing and may justify a more broad-based oncogenetic testing in some populations