The result has been a pronounced postponement of first births and a higher rise in childlessness than in most European countries (Burh and Huinink, 2015). However, patterns differ between the eastern and western German Lander. In the east, the increase in women’s education did not considerably affect completed fertility which remained stable across generations up to those bom in the 1960s, while in the western Lander, the lack of support for the work-family balance contributed to falling birth rates across all generations. In particular, women who engage in a full-time career in Germany are much more likely to remain childless than in France, while mothers are much more likely to work part-time and for particularly short hours (20 or less per week).