Statistics: Gender pay gap falls by 0.9 percent on year
In 2019, the gross hourly earnings of female employees were 17.1 percent lower than the gross hourly earnings of male employees, data from Statistics Estonia shows. The gender pay gap decreased by 0.9 percentage points year on year and by 7.7 percent since 2013.
The gross hourly earnings of female employees were €7.10 and the gross hourly earnings of male employees €8.56.
The gap was biggest in wholesale and retail trade at 28.7 percent, financial and insurance activities at 27.1 percent and in mining and quarrying at 26.5 percent.
Transportation and storage was the only economic activity where women earned more than men.
Estonia has one of the highest pay gaps between men and women in the European Union.
Statistics Estonia analyst Karina Valma said the gender pay gap has decreased by 7.7 percentage points since 2013.
"Although the gap is narrowing very slowly, the difference in the wages of men and women has never been smaller in Estonia. In 2019, compared to 2018, the wage gap decreased the most in professional, scientific and technical activities and increased the most in other service activities, such as the activities of membership organisations, repair of household goods and beauty treatment," Valma explained.
In cooperation with the Gender Equality and Equal Treatment Commissioner and researchers at the University of Tartu and Tallinn University of Technology, in autumn, a development will be added to Statistics Estonia's wages and salaries application, which will make it possible to compare wage data by gender.
--
Download the ERR News app for Android and iOS now and never miss an update!
Editor: Helen Wright
