Malta is among the best performing EU members when it comes to balance in paid work, according to a new study issued by the European Commission on the occasion of Women’s Day today.
The Gender Pay-Gap analysis says Malta has the fourth lowest gender pay gap among the 27 member states with a difference of six per cent in 2010, one per cent lower than the previous year and much better than the EU average.
The EU member states with a narrower gender pay gap were Poland, Slovenia and Italy. The average gender pay gap in the EU is much wider than Malta’s and stood at 16.4 per cent in 2010.
According to the Commission, the gender pay gap – the average difference in gross hourly earnings between women and men across the economy as a whole – is persistently high in the EU with considerable differences between countries and sectors.
It reflects the problem of balancing work and private life since many women take parental leave and have part-time jobs, which contribute considerably to a wider pay gap.
The report shows that, despite an overall positive trend in 2010 – a decrease of 0.5 per cent over the preceding year – there are member states where the gap is widening, such as Bulgaria, France, Latvia, Hungary, Portugal and Romania.
European Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding said that the gap was unacceptable and member states should work harder to bring about more equality.
“The principle of equal pay for equal work is written in the EU Treaties since 1995 and it is high time that it is put in practice everywhere,” she said.
Although Malta has the lowest female participation rate in the EU, it is making strides forward, so much so that for the first time since statistics started to be compiled, in 2011 Malta surpassed the 40 percentage mark in female participation in employment.
In the category of those under 30 years of age, working-women in Malta are at par with their EU counterparts.
Main causes of gender pay gaps
Direct discrimination – Some women are paid less than men for doing the same job. This factor only explains a small part of the gender pay gap due to the effectiveness of the EU and national legislation.
The undervaluing of women’s work – More frequently women earn less than men for doing jobs of equal value. One of the main causes is the way women’s competences are valued compared to men’s. For example, the (mainly female) cashiers in a supermarket usually earn less than the (mainly male) employees involved in stacking shelves and other more physical tasks.
Segregation in the labour market – Women and men still tend to work in different jobs. On the one hand, women and men often predominate in different sectors. On the other, within the same sector or companies, women predominate in less-valued and less-paid jobs. Women are also under-represented in managerial and senior positions and represent only 32 per cent of managers in companies across the EU.
Traditions and stereotypes – While in some cases this may reflect personal choices, traditions and stereotypes may influence, for instance, the choice of educational paths and, consequently, professional careers that girls and women take. While in the EU 55 per cent per cent of University students are women, they are a minority in fields like mathematics, computing and engineering. In many cases, this results in women working in less-valued and less-paid sectors of the economy.
Balancing work and private life – Family and care responsibilities are still not equally shared. The task of looking after children is largely borne by women, which means that far more women than men choose to take parental leave. This fact, together with the lack of facilities for childcare and elderly care, means that women are often forced to exit the labour market: the employment rate for women with dependent children is only 62.4 per cent compared with 91.4 per cent for men with dependent children.