GENDER WAGE GAP IN ESTONIA
May 13, 2011
Sten Anspal
Research questions
• Why is gender wage gap so high in Estonia?
• What could be done to reduce it?
Stages of the research project
• Review of theoretical and empirical literature
• Gender wage gap in Estonia– Analysis of Labor Force Survey data from
2000-2008– Case studies in organizations: the role of
personnel practices in development of the gender wage gap
• Policy recommendations
Gender pay gap, EU-27 (2007)
Source: Eurostat
Gender pay gap in Estonia, 1993-2009
Source: Estonian Labour Force Survey 2000-2009
Which factors explain the gender wage gap?
Factors that may lead to different average wages for men and women:- Occupation- Industry- Level of education- Field of education- Working time
28.7%
Women work more than men in lower paying occupations
Men WomenWage level
(average=100)
Managers and senior officials 15.9% 8.9% 163
Professionals 9.0% 18.9% 119
Associate professionals 7.9% 18.2% 101
Clerks 2.7% 7.2% 87
Service and sales workers 5.2% 19.0% 69
Skilled agricultural and fishery workers 3.1% 2.0% 75
Craft and related trade workers 27.6% 4.2% 110
Plant and machine operators 19.7% 8.4% 97
Elementary occupations 8.8% 13.2% 60
Total 100% 100%
Women work more than men in industries that pay lower wages
Men WomenWage level
(average=100)Agriculture and forestry 10.4 5.4 81Fishing 0.9 0.2 86Mining and quarrying 1.7 0.3 99Manufacturing 24.2 20.3 97Electricity, gas and water supply 2.7 0.9 105Construction 16.7 1.5 139Wholesale and retail trade 9.8 15.6 95Hotels and restaurants 1.1 4.2 74Transport, storage and communication 11.6 5.3 118Financial intermediation 0.5 1.7 155Real estate, renting and business activities 6.3 5.7 102Public administration and defence 6.1 6.9 114Education 3.5 16.2 86Health and social work 1.5 9.8 83Total 100 100
Women’s level of education is on average higher than men’s
Men Women
Wage level (average=100)
Primary education 29.9 25.8 78Secondary education 58 58 93Tertiary education 12.1 16.2 139Total 100 100
Women’s lower wages are not due to their choice of field of education
Share of womenWage level
(average=100)Mathematics, statistics and computer science 60% 148Life and physical sciences 58% 136Social sciences, business and law 85% 111Engineering, manufacturing and construction 30% 110Humanities and arts 72% 110Health and welfare 93% 103Services 45% 101Teacher training and education science 91% 97
Agriculture and veterinary 48% 89General programmes 53% 89
Wage gap is greatest at ages of childbearing and rearing
Greater part of wage gap unexplained
Factors that may lead to different average wages for men and women:- Occupation- Industry- Level of education- Field of education- Working time
- Insufficiently detailed statistical data?- Unmeasured factors (personality,
discrimination)?
28.7%
Gender wage gap existed in all organisations studied
One reason: women and men working in different occupations
However, there were also cases of men and women receiving unequal pay for same work Personnel practices:
Bonus for men to compensate for working with women“Men’s” jobs considered unsuitable for women when
hiring Compensation for use of personal car vs use of company
car
Thank you!
The Estonian Centre for Applied Research (CENTAR)