According to the State Office for Statistics, women in Bavaria earn an average of 21.24 euros gross per hour, men 26.85 euros. The largest part of this earnings gap of 21 percent can be explained by differences in fields of activity, part-time work, professional experience, leadership positions and qualifications. Adjusted, there remains an earnings gap of seven percent or 1.86 euros gross per hour, the state office announced on Thursday.
There is a significant jump in the difference in earnings from around the age of 30. “At this point in time, women on average become mothers for the first time,” explained the statisticians. For those under 25, the earnings gap is only two percent and for those over 60 it is 32 percent. The state office explains a good two-thirds of the gap by saying that women work more often in low-paying professions, work part-time more often, hold management positions less often and do worse in terms of education and professional experience. Adjusted for all of this, “even with comparable labor market and job-relevant characteristics, women still earn seven percent less per hour than their male colleagues.”
On average across the country, the adjusted gap is six percent. However, this should be understood as “an upper limit for possible earnings discrimination, as not all factors relevant to earnings are available for the analysis,” the state office said.