Women work 61 days without pay if you compare their salary with that of men. Equal Pay Day, which marks the boundary between paid and unpaid days, falls on November 1 this year, one day later than last year.
There is a counterpart to this in the spring. To close the gap, organizations mainly called for more pay transparency and the implementation of an accompanying EU directive.
The salary disadvantage for women is 16.6 percent
According to calculations by the Chamber of Labor (AK) Upper Austria based on payroll tax data from Statistics Austria, the gross annual salary of employees who work full-time all year round is around 59,300 euros, and that of female employees is around 49,400 euros. . The gap for women is 16.6 percent. However, the gap is not the same everywhere in Austria: Equal Pay Day took place in October in the vast majority of states.
In Vorarlberg, equal pay day was already on October 7
Vienna performs best, where Equal Pay Day falls on November 22, and Vorarlberg performs worst, where it already took place on October 7. The income difference in Vorarlberg is 23.4 percent and in Vienna 10.8 percent. In between are Upper Austria (October 17), Tyrol (October 21), Salzburg (October 24), Styria (October 25), Carinthia (October 30), Lower Austria (October 31) and Burgenland (October 5).
The gender pay gap is partly explained by women taking time off for maternity leave, but also by the fact that women are more likely to work in lower-paying sectors, while men are more likely to work in higher-paying sectors. According to the union-affiliated Momentum Institute, seven of 11 systemically important occupational groups with lower average gross hourly wages than the economy as a whole are female-dominated – such as childcare, cleaning and unskilled jobs.
Once the share of women in an industry becomes significantly predominant, the average wage level drops, the Momentum Institute explains. The pay gap is particularly large for women with a migrant background, who receive 25 percent less gross hourly wages than men.
Fathers’ participation in childcare benefits has fallen
The higher part-time quota of women, who more often do unpaid work, such as childcare, is repeatedly mentioned as a cause of the income differences between the sexes. On average, 55 percent of women in municipalities work part-time, according to the Association of Cities. Among men it is only ten percent throughout Austria, but in Vienna it is 23 percent. The Court of Audit also recently noted in a report that the participation of fathers in childcare allowance has declined: men accounted for only 4.1 percent of claim days in 2022. The Association of Cities is therefore calling for an expansion of childcare.
In addition to the Association of Cities, the SPÖ, the AK and the Frauenring are pushing for the implementation of the EU directive on wage transparency. This must be transposed into national law by mid-2026. “A fair division of labor is our goal,” says SPÖ women’s leader Eva-Maria Holzleitner, who also pushed for half and half when it comes to paid and unpaid work. For the FPÖ, the goal is to equalize salaries in low-paid jobs. Women’s spokesperson Rosa Ecker also called for a financial upgrade of the ‘mother profession’.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
