Gender Pay Gap Between 2011 and 2023 Shrunk

Women have higher education and increasingly possess characteristics that are in demand in the labor market, explain the authors René Böheim and Marian Fink and the author Christine Zulehner regarding the development.

Apprenticeship, Compulsory and Higher Education

If women had the same education as men, the wage gap would be even larger according to the paper. In 2022, 22.7 percent of women and 18.1 percent of men had a university degree. However, the proportion of compulsory school graduates in 2022 was higher among women at 18.7 percent compared to men at 15.6 percent. A woman with a university degree earned 24.8 percent more in 2023 than one with a compulsory school degree, while a man with a university degree earned 25.3 percent more than a man with a compulsory school degree.

The situation is different with apprenticeships: A woman with an apprenticeship certificate earned on average only 2.5 percent more in 2023 than one with a compulsory school degree, while the difference for men is 5.6 percent. The reason for this is that women often push into lower-paid professions such as retail or office clerk or hairdresser, while men prefer better-paid technical industries. In industries where fewer men work, wages tend to be lower.

Adjusted Wage Gap at 6.3 Percent

In addition to the unadjusted wage gap, Wifo also calculates an adjusted version. This calculation removes the parts of the earnings difference that are based on structural differences between men and women, such as career and industry choice, part-time employment, and leadership roles. The Wifo researchers arrive at 6.3 percent - a figure that has only fluctuated slightly since 2012.

The gender pay gap is caused, among other things, by career choice, working hours, promotion barriers, differences in negotiation behavior, and discrimination. A mix of measures must be taken against this, recommend the economists: Positive influence can be exerted by gender-neutral career orientation and counseling. In male-dominated areas, the corporate culture and family-friendly conditions must also be addressed to make them attractive to women. Legal regulations could oblige employers to pay equal work equally.

Different Figures for the Gender Pay Gap

The fact that different figures circulate for the gender pay gap is due to various calculation methods. Wifo calculates based on the microcensus with the average gross hourly wages of employed women and men between 20 and 59 years old. On Wednesday, Statistics Austria, however, reported the wage gap in the private sector as 18.3 percent.

(APA/Red)

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.