New survey in four Member States shows…

STILL A BIG PAY GAP BETWEEN

WOMEN & MEN

Women ‘bosses’ fare worst

European Union
Eurostat

A report  on pay in four Member States gives hourly earnings of women as a percentage of those of men as 84% in Sweden, 73% in France and Spain and just over 64% in the UK. This includes both full- and part-time workers but excludes overtime.

Women managers are worst off compared with men. In the UK they receive two-thirds the pay of male counterparts. Even in Sweden, which is nearest to equality, it’s only 80%.

Women and men in lower-paid non-manual jobs – clerks, shop assistants etc – are closest to being equal.

And – "There is", says the report, "a noticeable trend, which is remarkably consistent in all four countries, that the older the age group of women considered, the further they fall short of the average earnings of their male counterparts". But under 20 they earn 90%+ for males of the same age.

And – it adds that although women with a university degree may earn more than women with lower qualifications, they actually earn a smaller percentage of the equivalent male earnings.

The male/female gap, the report goes on, may be due to women being more likely to be in jobs that are typically poorly paid. Also women’s age and educational qualifications are different.

When women’s earnings are recalculated to remove such structural differences, they do come closer to men’s. But, the report concludes, "there still remains an hourly earnings difference between a man and woman with comparable educational background, in the same occupation and industry, of 13% in Sweden, 22% in Spain, 23% in France and almost 25% in the UK".

First study since 1978

These Structure of Earnings Statistics produced by Eurostat, Statistical Office of the European Communities in Luxembourg – are the first since 1978, and refer to 1995 (except France – 1994). Data on the other Member States will follow. Data cover all sectors in industry and some service sectors.

It gives the following for average gross annual earnings, including overtime and bonuses, of all full-time adult employees, men and women: Sweden 25,600 ECU, France 24,800 ECU, UK 22,800 ECU and Spain 19,600 ECU.

Other key points, covering both men and women:

• Part-time workers earn much less than full-time workers, even on an hourly basis: 85% of the full-time average in Sweden, 71% in France, 69% in Spain and 60% in the UK. Most part-timers are in low-paid jobs and most are women – 67% in Spain, 68% in France, 69% in Sweden and 81% in the UK.
• French workers with higher education receive 57% more pay than those who have completed secondary school. Difference is 40% in the UK, 32% in Spain and 25% in Sweden.
• Overall, managers, grouped with legislators, are the best-paid group. In Sweden and the UK they earn about one-and-a-half times national average; composed with twice as much in France and Spain.
• Managers on average earn a lot more than the next highest-paid – professionals such as doctors, lawyers and teachers.

Top earners – French managers

• Top earners of all are French managers with an average 4,000 ECU a month. And even French professionals earn more than managers in the three other countries. Lowest-paid managers are in the UK (2,700 ECU).
• In Sweden, with highest average earnings and most even distribution, workers in the lowest-paid jobs are paid on average about 46% as much as managers. In the UK it’s 40% and in France and Spain around 30%.
• In all the countries, average earnings are slightly higher in services than in industry. Highest are in the financial sector. Next comes the category ‘real estate, renting and business activities’. Lowest pay is in hotels and restaurants, especially in the UK.
• Earnings tend to rise steeply through a person’s 20s and 30s as he or she gains experience. In Spain and Sweden and especially the UK there is then a tendency for people near the end of their working lives to earn less than those up to 45. France is exceptional. The oldest employees are, as an average, the highest paid – "mainly", says the report, "due to a small number of individuals with very high earnings".
• Company loyalty – more service, more pay – is well rewarded in France and Spain. It has a less important role in Sweden and the UK.
• Overtime remains largely a male preserve. Men do three times as much as women in the UK and twice as much in the other three countries.
• Full-time workers in Sweden receive 88% above normal pay for overtime. In Spain it’s 50% more and in France and the UK only 25%.

Notes

a. Caution should be taken in comparing earnings levels in the four countries. Apart from different living costs, gross earnings are subject to deductions that vary according to national systems of taxation and social security.

b. Data exclude the self-employed or those who work in local units of fewer than 10 people; also workers in agriculture and fishing, public administration and defence, education, health and social work, other community, social and personal services activities, private households and extra-territorial organisations, together with certain other exceptions on a national basis.

1 Eurostat Statistics in focus, Population and social conditions, no 15/97, How evenly are earnings distributed?

2. ISCED 5-7, higher education.

3. ISCED 3, upper secondary education beginning at the age of 14-15 and refers to either general, technical or vocational education.

Gross monthly earnings by occupation in ECU

(men & women)

Hourly earnings of women as % of those of men

(full- & part-time workers, excluding bonuses & overtime)