Slovak Spectator / SLOVAK women must work three months longer in a year to make the same pay as men. Oľga Pietruchová of the gender equality office of the Labour Ministry told the TASR newswire that the average difference in the hourly pay of men and women in Slovakia is 20.7 percent as compared to 16.4 percent for all of Europe. Slovakia marks Pay Equality Day on March 30 while the EU does so on March 5.
“Because of this wage differential Slovak women are at a higher risk of poverty than men,” said the European Commission’s representative in Slovakia, Dušan Chrenek, adding that it is also not unusual for women more qualified than men to earn lower salaries throughout much of Europe.
Among EU countries, the lowest salary gender gaps are found in Slovenia and Malta. At the other end of the spectrum, the difference in salaries between the genders in the Czech Republic and Austria are even greater than in Slovakia.
Unequal salaries are most frequent in professions in which a university education is required and in high-level managerial positions.
“The gap is smallest in low-paying jobs,” said Pietruchová.
Source: http://spectator.sme.sk/articles/view/46415/19/earnings_gap_for_women_is_207_pct.html
