Social minister wants to reduce gender based wage gap

TALLINN – On July 5, Estonian government approved of an action plan submitted by Social Minister Hanno Pevkur that proposes a set of measures to reduce the wage gap between men and women, Postimees Online reports.

The list includes compiling different analyses, organizing training but also initiating a mentorship program for female managers.

According to the Statistical Office data, the average gross hourly wage of men in October last year was by 22.9 percent higher than that of women. A study that was commissioned by the social ministry did not pinpoint any factors that could be considered the main cause of the wage gap. The ministry said that since the wage gap is affected by several factors connected to each other, solutions can only lie in a wholesome approach.

Social minister Hanno Pevkur said that besides training and information work, reduction of gender-based segregation is very important adding that if social attitudes regarding this could be changed a bit, it would certainly reduce the wage gap.

He pointed out that the gender-based wage gap in Estonia is the biggest, 30 percent, among cooks, although 84 percent of all cooks are women, meaning that while men are general top-level chefs, women work in school kitchens.