Where did the data come from?
The Demystifying the Gender Pay Gap study looked at more than 534.000 salary statements shared by employees on Glassdoor.
The study is based on salary data from full-time employees to 11. November 2015 (USA) and 24 respectively. November 2015 (Germany, UK, France, Australia) on Glassdoor.
Gender pay gap in Germany at 5,5 percent
The data used in the study include specific information on the employee, such as the job title or the specific employer. Through this additional information, salaries were compared more closely and a precise gender pay gap could be identified. The uncleaned and the adjusted wage gap between men and women was determined.
According to glassdoor data, the unadjusted content gap is 22,5 percent - on the actual salary, this means that women earn an average of 78 cents for every euro that men earn. Even after considering all relevant factors and the statistical adjustment, the gap is still at 5,5 percent. For comparison: in France the adjusted gender pay gap is 6,3 percent, in Austria it is 3,9 percent, while the US with 5,4 percent is just under Germany. For Great Britain the same salary scale was calculated as for the Federal Republic.
The Federal Statistical Office also comes to similar results with 21 percent (unadjusted) and 7 percent (adjusted) - however, the authority assumes that the actual wage gap would have been lower considering other and unavailable influencing factors . Part of the wage gap can be attributed to the fact that men "typically" work in other industries and thus simply fill better paid positions or have more work experience than women.
What are the explanatory and unresolved factors of gender pay gaps?
In order to better understand the causes of the wage gap, the study divides these into their explanatory and unclear parts. Factors such as various sectors, work experience or age are explainable components of the gender pay gap. For Germany, 51 percent can be explained by different employee characteristics; At the same time, 49 percent can not be explained by factors that are observable on the basis of the data.
In a direct comparison with the other countries surveyed, Germany occupies the last place here - in the US 67 percent of the gender pay gap can be explained, in the UK at least 64 percent. The unexplained factors include, for example, differences in the salary negotiation strategy of men and women, or differences in treatment by the employer, either unintentionally or not.
Salary gap through different types of employment
At around 28 percent, a major factor in the wage gap in Germany is the different types of employment and industries mentioned above, for which men and women “typically” choose and their earnings potential varies considerably. This factor is also found in all other countries examined. As scientific studies show, social pressure and gender norms also contribute to how the careers of men and women develop.
Women are sometimes more likely to meet the classic roles and look after the children or dependent relatives. In this way, they accept, for example, lower paid jobs or part-time jobs. These gender-specific differences have an influence on the education and professional experience and make up 22 percent of the explicable gender pay gap.
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