Last year, women also earned significantly less than their male colleagues. The gender pay gap remained at 18 percent, as the Federal Statistical Office announced on Thursday. Accordingly, women received an average of 20.84 euros per hour. That is 4.46 euros less than the gross hourly earnings of men (25.30 euros). “In a long-term comparison, the unadjusted gender pay gap fell,” emphasized the statisticians. In 2006, the gender pay gap was still 23 percent. Since 2020 it has remained at 18 percent. The wage gap in East Germany is still significantly smaller: there it was seven percent last year, while in West Germany it was 19 percent (2006: East: six percent, West: 24 percent).
“From the start of the 30s, the difference in earnings between women and men increases almost constantly,” emphasized the statisticians. On average, women are around 30 years old when they give birth to their first child. From this age onwards, their gross hourly earnings almost stagnate, while for men it increases almost constantly as they get older. “This could be because women are more likely to interrupt their careers and work part-time over the course of their working lives due to family reasons,” it says. “Career advancements and wage increases are therefore becoming less common for women.”
Even in comparable jobs, women earn less than men
According to the information, around 64 percent of the earnings gap can be explained by certain characteristics. “A large part of the earnings gap is due to the fact that women work more often than men in sectors, professions and skill levels where the pay is lower,” say the statisticians. “They are also more likely to be in part-time or marginal employment than men.” This is also accompanied by lower gross hourly earnings. However, the remaining 36 percent of the difference in earnings could not be explained by the characteristics available in the estimation model. This corresponds to an adjusted wage gap of six percent.
According to this, female employees earned six percent less per hour than their male colleagues, even with comparable jobs, qualifications and employment histories. The differences could be smaller if more information about wage-relevant influencing factors were available for the analysis – such as information on interruptions in employment due to pregnancy, the birth of children or caring for relatives, it said.