Of course, different sources show different data and according to the European Commission, Bulgaria's gender wage gap stands at 15.4% while the average in Europe is 16.3%. As stated in the last blog, the Bulgarian wage gap is lower than the average in Europe.
The article states that there are three disadvantages that women face with the wage gap. Firstly, women earn a lower hourly salary. Also, they work less hours in paid jobs because of other responsibilities. Lastly, there is a lower employment rate for women because of interruptions during their career like taking care of children. The overall gender gap in earnings in Bulgaria stands at 22.8%, while the average gender overall earning gap in the European Union is 39.6%.
Lastly, this week's blog will state some of the factors, contributing to the gender wage gap.
- Management and supervisory positions: These positions are mostly held my men. Men are usually promoted more easily and are paid better because of that. This lead to the CEO positions being held mostly by men -- women hold 6% of CEO positions.
- Unpaid Tasks: Women usually have to take over tasks that are important but unpaid. They have to take charge of the household and the children. Statistics show that men spend an average of 9 hours doing these unpaid tasks, when women take 22 hours out of their free time to do them. This results in 1 in 3 women reducing their paid full-time jobs to part-time to do that. Only 1 in 10 men do that.
- Periods off the labour market: Women spend more time off the labour market than men do. When a career is interrupted, it results in pay, future earnings and pensions.
- Segregation in labour market and education: Women and men are both segregated in certain work areas -- some jobs are overwhelmed by women, while other are overwhelmed by men. Some countries have jobs that are represented mainly by one gender and the occupations that are represented by women have lower wages offered, even when the same education might be needed.
- Pay Discrimination: This is illegal, yet it continues to contribute to the wage gap.
We will continue talking about these issues in next week's blog! Thank you for your attention!
Credits: europa.eu
Comments