Wage differences persist: For the same time it takes a man to earn one euro, a woman gets only 80 ce

06.08.2024 09:55

The NBS stated this in its report.

For the same time it takes a man to earn one euro on average, a woman gets only 80 cents. Slovakia is among the countries with the largest differences in the wages of men and women within the EU. The National Bank of Slovakia (NBS) also stated this in its report.

While men work in the IT sector or in management positions, women more often find employment in education, in administration and in commerce. „Women sometimes give up the possibility of advancing in the management hierarchy precisely because they feel the commitments they have towards their loved ones,“ says sociologist from the Institute of Sociology of SAS Zuzana Kusá.

"The basic salaries of men and women are completely the same. It is very nicely visible when starting employment, when a person starts under the same conditions, whether man or woman. The difference is in the hour worked,"

said the Secretary General of the Association of Industrial Unions Andrej Lasz.

The difference arises for example with overtime work or work at night, which is very frequent in Slovakia. Women often cannot afford it. „This is partly related to the cultural duties of women in caring for relatives, for children. For older members of the household,“ continues Kusá.

Maternity leave

Women are at the same time less aggressive in conversations with the employer. „Women have lower self-confidence when it comes to negotiating their salary. Much less often and for a much lower amount do they negotiate salary conditions at job interviews, and the same is true with employers,“ explained the spokesperson of Alma Career Slovakia, Ľubica Melcerová.

One reason for the large difference between the wages of men and women here is also the three-year maternity leave. „These differences are smaller in countries where paid parental leave is shorter, where a higher proportion of children attend nurseries,“ said the NBS analyst Peter Tóth.

After the end of maternity leave, women often take part-time jobs so that they can devote themselves to the family. „When we talk about wages as such, then it is not an hourly wage, but a monthly one. If someone has a half or part-time job, then, of course, that wage is also lower,“ stated the analyst from the Faculty of Business Management, Pavel Škriniar.

According to experts, the differences between the wages of men and women are slowly decreasing. However, it will take a long time before they become equal. Shortening maternity leave could help, or possibly dividing it between men and women and higher protection of employees through collective agreements.

You will learn more in the report by STVR.