[The participation of female psychiatrists and neurologists in mental health care and neurology in the GDR: A first search for clues].

The aim of this study is to investigate the presence and career position of women in psychiatry and neurology in the GDR as fundamental preliminary work.A quantitative survey of female authors was conducted in the only GDR journal "Psychiatrie, Neurologie und Medizinische Psychologie". This was the most obvious publication option for GDR professionals.The number of publications by women increased significantly from 1968 onwards. Nevertheless, of the 5,662 publications between 1949 and 1990, only 18.12% were written by or with women. The 20 women with the most publications can be identified for the first time.It stands to reason that women gained a greater presence in psychiatry and neurology in the GDR in the second half of the 1960s. Some women will also have increasingly attained higher positions here, as they functioned as scientific publicists. Nevertheless, the presence of women remains low in comparison to men, both quantitatively and qualitatively.