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European Equal Pay Day

The European Commission organizes today the second “Equal Pay Day” event at European level to raise awareness on the fact that women still earn on average 16.4 % less than men, according to recent figures.

The “Gender pay gap” is measured by calculating “the average difference in gross hourly earnings between women and men across the economy as a whole”. The difference in income also reflects the fact that women, to a much larger extent, take responsibility for the household by taking parental leave and part-time jobs to be able to better balance work and private-life.

The figures show that there has been a small positive trend during the recent years; however the figures still varies a lot from one country to another and depending on the sector. In Poland, the gender pay gap is around 2 % whereas in Estonia it is more than 27 %. Moreover, in some countries, such as Bulgaria, France, Latvia, Hungary, Portugal and Romania, the trend is reverse and the gender gap is increasing.

Tools to raise awareness of employers, employees and stakeholders on this issue have been created, such as training for companies (e.g. methods on how to address this issue) and exchange of good practices. A video clip and a campaign website providing information and links to social partners are also available. There are also national events that are organized in several EU Member states.

Source : http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-12-211_en.htm