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Until then, women work for free when comparing their annual income with that of men. The Gender Pay Gap - currently 12.2 percent - has steadily decreased in recent years. In 2020, it was still at 15.2 percent (February 25th). Vienna shows the lowest salary differences, Vorarlberg the highest; in the EU comparison, Austria ranks second to last.

Within Austria, the wage gap varies greatly by region. In Vienna, it was already the smallest last year. However, the federal capital worsened from 3.2 to 4.3 percent, with Equal Pay Day on January 16th. Vorarlberg, at the bottom, improved from 21.1 to 20.0 percent, with Equal Pay Day here on March 14th. In between are Lower Austria with a Gender Pay Gap of 11.7 percent (February 12th), Burgenland with 12.5 percent (February 15th), Carinthia with 12.8 percent (February 16th), Salzburg with 14.8 percent (February 23rd), Styria with 15.5 percent (February 26th), Tyrol with 16.4 percent (March 1st), and Upper Austria with 17.2 percent (March 4th).

Equal Pay Day in EU Comparison: Higher Wage Gap Only in Estonia

The network "Business and Professional Women Austria" uses the median of annual gross incomes of full-time employees for calculation - unlike the Equal Pay Day at the end of the year, which works with average incomes. The latest figures from Statistics Austria are from 2023. To close the Gender Pay Gap, the network demands, among other things, income transparency, tax incentives for companies that demonstrably pay equal wages for equivalent work, the upgrading of low-wage sectors, and the nationwide expansion of childcare.

ÖVP Women's Minister Susanne Raab called the equality between women and men a "societal task" that requires a joint effort between the federal government, states, municipalities, social partners, and companies. Raab referred in a statement to programs like the childcare initiative or the "Role-Model-Initiative" of the Women's Fund. "The freedom of choice through comprehensive childcare and the empowerment of young women and girls are important ways to create equal opportunities," said the Women's Minister.

Eurostat - the statistical office of the EU - calculates the Gender Pay Gap based on hourly wages. Here, Austria, with 18.4 percent, is the country with the second-highest gender wage gap - only Estonia is worse with 21.3 percent. The Czech Republic ranks third to last with 17.9 percent, followed by Germany and Slovakia with 17.7 percent. At the top are Luxembourg with a reverse Gender Pay Gap of -0.7 percent, Italy with 4.3, and Romania with 4.5 percent. Overall, the EU has a wage gap of 12.7 percent, with the latest data from 2022.

In the run-up to Equal Pay Day, calls for measures for more wage justice were once again loud from many sides. The Chamber of Labor (AK) and the Trade Union Federation (ÖGB) demanded in a joint statement an end to "retro-women's policies," more wage transparency, a family working time model, and an additional billion per year for child education and care. "The government negotiators should finally push for the comprehensive expansion of child education facilities and thus better career and income opportunities for women, instead of coming up with absurd ideas like a home-stay bonus," said AK President Renate Anderl. Ombudswoman Gabriela Schwarz appealed to all men to demand an end to these injustices together with women. "At our Ombudsman's office, men and women earn the same. I am proud of that, and it should be the same everywhere," said Schwarz.

"Instead of pushing women into old patterns and roles with pseudo-rewards for childcare, we need real financial security and a determined fight against the part-time trap," explained NEOS Women's Spokesperson Henrike Brandstötter, advocating for a financial education initiative so that women are informed about the impact of part-time work on their pensions. SPÖ Women's Chairwoman Eva-Maria Holzleitner called for the faster closing of the wage gap. "It is high time to banish wage differences to the history books," said Holzleitner, referring to the SPÖ concepts for the fair distribution of paid and unpaid work and a legal right to free all-day child education from the first year of life. Countries like Norway, where nine out of ten men take parental leave, show that equality is possible. The Green Party's Women's Spokesperson, Meri Disoski, accused "lobby groups in the ÖVP" of blocking the implementation of the EU wage transparency directive. Effective measures against the discrimination of women in pay have been known for a long time, yet progress is only at a snail's pace, said Disoski. The Greens also demand more wage transparency, a legal right to childcare from the first birthday, and a fair distribution of unpaid care work.

The Equal Pay initiative called for the implementation of the EU directive on wage transparency and "measures to close the wage gap." "It is unacceptable that women are financially disadvantaged year after year," explained Christa Kirchmair, President of the initiative. She demanded mandatory wage transparency for companies, sanctions for unjustified wage inequality, and generally better conditions for women in the workplace, such as in the distribution of unpaid care work. Klaudia Frieben, Chairwoman of the Austrian Women's Ring, demanded the "re-evaluation of the work of men and women." The upgrading of female-dominated sectors and the elimination of income discrimination are important steps, she explained in a statement.

(APA/Red)

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