TALLINN - According to a recent survey, Estonia has the largest difference in men's and women's salaries in Central and Eastern Europe. Male employees in the Baltic state usually earn 27 percent more than their equally qualified female colleagues, the survey pointed out.
The survey, titled "Women and Men at the Estonian Labor Market: Analysis of Salary Difference" and released on Oct. 5, was compiled by the Praxis thinktank and the Open Estonia Foundation based on Labor Market Board data between 1998 and 2000.
It revealed that the biggest differences in men's and women's salaries could be found among non-Estonians and people aged 30 - 40.
According to Tairi Room, head of the Bank of Estonia's economic research department, and Epp Kallaste, an analyst from Praxis, only one-third of such cases could be justified by the unequal productivity of men and women. This, in turn, is caused by different education levels and peculiarities among certain jobs.
Even though the situation in Estonia has been improving since the end of the 80s when a male employee received on average 44 percent more than his female counterpart, Estonia still maintains these record statistics, the survey indicated.
From 1994 to 2001 the average women's hourly pay grew from 71 percent to 75 percent of the men's average pay. However, growth among businesses that hire mostly women and those where university degrees are a priority has been bridging this gap. Authors of the survey furthermore point out that the recently approved law on gender equality will stimulate that process.
Approved earlier this year, the law on gender equality - one of the legal acts required by EU regulations - has apparently not yet swayed Estonian employers. However, this will apparently soon be changed under court practice, according to the survey.
