issue of women from East Germany who had settled in the Federal Republic. The large number of such women had given rise to a whole range of problems in the area of labour and social-security legislation. However, women as such were affected only to a minimal extent. For example, women from the German Democratic Republic who had settled in the Federal Republic and whose occupational background was in the construction industry proper, would not be able to exercise their occupation until the universal prohibition on such employment for women had been lifted. 119. With regard to legal arrangements to facilitate the combination of family responsibilities and work, which arose in connection with article 11, paragraph 2, she wished first of all to discuss the Maternity Protection Act. Six weeks before and eight weeks after confinement, female workers covered by the statutory health-insurance scheme received benefits from the insurance institution and from their employer that fully compensated them for their loss of wages. Since they remained employed during the period in question, at the end of that period they could, in principle, resume employment at the same place of work. Their absence had no disadvantageous effects on their employment status in legal terms. 120. Secondly, under the Federal Child-Raising Allowance Act, mothers or fathers who cared for their child themselves were entitled to payment of DM 600 per month until the child reached the age of 15 months. As from July 1990, such allowances could be drawn until the child reached the age of 18 months. Once the child reached the age of 7 months, the level of the child-raising allowance was adjusted downwards to take account of the income of the beneficiar y and his or her spouse. While drawing the allowance, if he or she was employed the beneficiary was entitled 
**Analysis**
The text discusses the settlement of women from East Germany in the Federal Republic and the related issues of labour and social-security legislation, as well as legal arrangements for combining family responsibilities and work. The focus is on the rights and benefits of women, particularly in the context of maternity and child-raising. This suggests that the text is primarily concerned with social and employment-related issues.

**Category**
Employment, Health