An extra 36 years have just been added to the time it could take to close the global gender pay gap, which means it could be another 136 years before women earn equal pay to men. In Germany, which has one of the widest gaps in Europe, women could be waiting until 2121 or longer for the pay gap to end.
Defining the Gender Pay Gap
The gender pay gap is the difference between the median earnings of men and women. Despite the progress being made towards workplace equality, this gap is still prevalent across many countries.
How Does Germany Compare?
German women make just 78 cents for every Euro earned by men, and the country has one of the most significant unadjusted gender pay gaps in Europe. This disparity can also be seen reflected in the latest OECD data, which shows the wage gap in Germany is nearly 14%, almost two percent higher than the total OECD average of 12.5%.
There is a wide difference between pay equality in Germany compared to several other European countries.
Women’s Unemployment is 1% higher in Germany
It’s been predicted that globally, 5% of all employed women lost their jobs due to the Covid-19 crisis, compared to 3.9% of men. In Germany, female unemployment was 1% higher for women than for men due to covid. This, in conjunction with a limited number of women in senior roles, and fewer women returning to the workforce after having children, will have a prolonged effect on the gender pay gap overall.
The Push for Female Leadership in Germany
Earlier this year, the government introduced a mandatory quota for women in the senior management of listed German companies (on the blue-chip Dax index). This move aims to address the low levels of female leadership in listed German companies, currently just 12.8%. This is just around half of that in the UK (24.5%) and the USA (24.9%).
The new quota is part of Germany’s first national strategy for gender equality.
Tips to Help Employers Promote Equality
As the drive towards a more equitable and inclusive workplace continues, here are some practical steps German companies can take to help narrow the gender wage gap:
- Incentivise paternity leave
The old-fashioned view of motherhood is still largely ingrained in some areas of German culture, making successful careers even more of a challenge for working mothers. Businesses can be made more female-friendly by incentivising paternity leave for dads. If fathers have additional paternity leave, mothers can return to work sooner, work more hours, and earn more money while encouraging an equal division of childcare tasks.
Find out more about parental leave (elternzeit) in Germany.
- Subsidise childcare
The cost of childcare can be stressful for many families, which means unpaid childcare tasks often become the responsibility of German mothers. Businesses that help working parents by providing childcare services or subsidies can promote equality, retain talent and reduce turnover.
- Normalise remote and flexible working
In today’s digital world, remote working is becoming more acceptable and accessible to workers, and the COVID-19 pandemic has shown that widespread remote working is possible. Flexible hours and offsite working can help working parents, especially mothers, juggle their work-life and parental responsibilities more efficiently.
- Be transparent about pay
Being open about how much you pay your staff, whether listed in the initial job description or the interview, is a good starting point. Businesses should research market rates for a role and offer a fair salary for the job they are hiring for.
Explain to job candidates upfront how your business determines salaries and pay increases, so they can make an informed decision about whether to join your company or not.
- Ensure fairness when giving promotions and rewards
As a business owner, you need to ensure that all employees have a fair chance of receiving promotions, bonuses or salary increases. Put clear and concise criteria for promotions, pay raises and bonuses in place, to keep things fair and avoid favouritism.
- Give your female employees a raise
Giving female employees an increase that makes their pay equal to that of their male colleagues is an easy way to close the gender pay gap. As more companies are being scrutinised and asked to publish their gender pay gap reports, this is a good strategy for businesses to establish a reputation as fair and ethical employers.
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