Women in Slovakia earn one fifth less than men on average, said Wood & Company analyst Eva Sadovska based on an analysis marking International Women's Day, held annually on March 8. The biggest differences were found in the finance and IT sectors and the smallest in water supplies and in administrative services.
According to the Statistics Office, the average woman's salary in Slovakia in 2021 was 17.8 percent lower than the one for men. This difference has slightly decreased over the past decade, however. In 2011, the difference was 24.2 percent.
"One of the reasons for this are the shorter working hours and therefore lower salaries, which concerns predominantly women. Eurostat also points to similar salary differences observed when comparing hourly rates. According to this data, the difference between a man's and a woman's salary is almost 17 percent, which makes it the fifth biggest in the European Union," explained Sadovska.
The biggest difference, 22 percent, is in the 35-44 age category. "Women of a certain age are likely to leave the job market for several years because of maternity or parental leave. This difference starts to intensify when they return to work, and it remains in place for years before it diminishes," explained the analyst.
According to Sadovska, women often work in lower-paying sectors or professions, while the better-paying ones are taken by men. Looking closer at specific sectors, the most noticeable differences are in finance and insurance services, where the average woman's salary in 2021 was 34.7 percent lower than the one for men. In the information and communications industry the difference was 28.6 percent. "Conversely, no evident salary difference was observed in water-supply and sewerage services. Administrative services have also seen a minimal difference, with the rate differing by only 1.2 percent in favour of men," added Sadovska.
Sadovska also highlighted that women face a higher risk of unemployment than men. A statistical analysis carried out by the Labour, Social Affairs and the Family Centre shows that the unemployment rate for women is 7.04 percent, while for men it's 4.94 percent. The higher unemployment rate for women is an ongoing problem, with the pandemic and other crises making it more apparent.
Business is also more of a man's domain, claimed Sadovska. The most recent data released by Eurostat show that the number of women in business fell in 2022 when compared to 2021. In 2021, there were 102,800 self-employed women in business. In the same year the number of men in business was 277,300, the highest level in the past ten years.
Source: TASR
