22 February: Equal Pay Day

Did you know that in Spain women have to work 418 days (365 days + 53) to get the same pay than men? This is why today the Equal Pay Day is celebrated.

But, what is the pay gap?

It is the difference between remuneration that women receive compared to men, and that is usually lower. The World Economic Forum explains that one of the reasons for this global situation (with differences among countries), is that there is a big segregation in top work positions with the best remunerations, CEOs and similar job positions. And these are mainly occupied by men.

In this case, women only hold 6% of these job positions, even they overtake the number of male university graduates: women often work in sectors of the economy with lower added value and therefore, they get lower remunerations.

Other reasons related to the social and cultural situation of women are that they dedicate a greater number of hours to motherhood and care (unpaid work), and this often means that they have to spend less hours in paid jobs. Across Europe, about 32% of women work part-time, compared to only 8% of men, and that is a big difference.

In addition to remuneration and working conditions of men and women, other factors must be taken into account such as the level of unemployment in a country, certain institutional mechanisms, the underground economy of a country, inequality in real maternity / paternity leaves, and the sexual division of labor, for example.

If you need more information on this topic, I recommend you to check these sources:

• European Comission: Equal pay in Europe
• European Institution for Gender Equality
• World Economic Forum
• BPW Spain. Federación de Empresarias y Profesionales
• UGT. Informe: “La brecha salarial persiste porque se infravalora el trabajo de las mujeres”

 
Chus García, Responsable de la Biblioteca TBS Barcelona

Tags: Career management|desigualdad|Equal Pay Day|inequality|Pay gap|Remuneration|work