Why the wage gap has still not closed

Only in Estonia is the salary gap between women and men even wider than in Austria. The two countries rank last in the EU when it comes to gender-related salary differences. However, statistics on this are often controversial because factors such as part-time work, pregnancy and additional qualifications are difficult to take into account.

One population group where salary differences should not be particularly noticeable is that of university graduates, as they all have the same qualifications. A study by the Institute for Women and Gender Studies at the Johannes Kepler University (JKU) under the direction of Doris Weichselbaumer shows that the opposite is the case. Together with JKU colleague Juliane Ransmayr, Weichselbaumer reviewed a data collection from Germany.

Study over 16 years

That data set included the salaries of around 27,000 university graduates in the first year after graduating from 1997 to 2013 (according to Weichselbaumer, there are no more recent figures that are similarly representative). In the study, Weichselbaumer and Ransmayr compared the income differences over the entire period.

One of the central findings: “Degrees in female-dominated professional fields such as education are paid less,” says Weichselbaumer. If men chose one of the “women’s jobs”, they were also confronted with financial disadvantages, but still earned five to six percent more than their female colleagues.

Great Britain as a role model?

“The salary differences were greatest in male-dominated professional fields,” says Weichselbaumer. Women with degrees in the natural sciences, engineering or law earned significantly less than their colleagues – even though they had completed the same training.

Another trend can also be seen: “The higher the wages in a professional field, the greater the differences between men and women,” says Weichselbaumer.

According to Weichselbaumer, the tools to reduce the salary gap in Austria or even close it permanently already exist. She cites Great Britain as an example. More salary transparency has demonstrably led to an equalization of wage differences there. Here the income reports, which are only available internally in Austria, can be viewed publicly. “If the inequality then becomes publicly visible and the media pressure is great, the same pay suddenly goes away very quickly,” says Weichselbaumer.

A salary transparency law is currently being developed at EU level. According to Weichselbaumer, this could be “a real step towards equality in salaries”.

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