The median salary for midwives in Germany is €62,500, according to a study released today.
The average salary for all midwives is €80,000, the study found.
“If you look at the numbers, midwives are paid a lot more,” says Eva, who asked to remain anonymous.
“We have been working for more than 40 years and this is the biggest change in our lives.”
The study also found that the median salary of a midwife is about 20 percent higher than the average German salary.
The research was carried out by the German Association for Midwives (MIM), which is a not-for-profit organisation representing midwives and other care workers.
The association’s head of research, Karin Dornmann, told the Rheinische Post that the average wage of a German midwife has been rising in recent years, despite the fact that the job has become more and more complex.
“As a matter of fact, there is a very big increase in the number of people entering the profession,” she said.
While the number one cause of midwives’ low pay is the growing number of women in the profession, the survey also found there were many other factors at play.
“There are a lot of women who are not happy about it, because they have to pay for childcare,” she added.
Dornmann said the lack of a union made it difficult for midwifery to get a voice in the labour market.
“It’s not that midwiffs are not qualified, but that they don’t have an influence on how the labour is done,” she told the paper.
“A union, if it’s in the right place, it would allow for the midwife to have a voice.”
The MIM also found the salary of the top 20 percent of midwamps was equivalent to just over €1,000.
Midwives earn between €80 and €90 per hour.
The highest paid midwife earns between €140,000 and €140 and €150,000 respectively.
“If it’s a midwamp with a master’s degree, she would be making between €100,000 to €150 million a year,” Dornman said.
The survey was conducted by the KwaZulu-Natal Institute for Health Research (KZNHI) and was carried over from its previous survey in 2017.
The study focused on midwives who work in the public and private sectors, but it also surveyed the average salary of all nurses, midwimps, and other health professionals.