According to Irja Rae, a partner at Fontes, in the current situation, half of all wage money is going to 25 percent of employees, of whom two thirds are men.

"Even in the case of jobs with the same value, the pay level might be quite different on the market — in the same group, women often find themselves in positions with lower income and men in positions with higher income," explained Rae, commenting on the results of the study. "There are many reasons behind the problem, but it is definitely connected to stereotypes in society regarding women's and men's jobs, education, values of organizations as well as training and development programs."

The total pay gap between men and women in Estonia was 8 percent in 2015 and 9 percent in 2016. The methodology used by Fontes somewhat differs from the methodologies used by previously published studies carried out by Eurostat or the Praxis Center for Policy Studies as it compares wage differences inside job families, which offers a more detailed overview.

According to Rae, however, the good news is that wage increases have been equal for both men and women, and the number of workers whose wages have increased is equal among both groups as well.

The wage data of 400 organizations and nearly 80,000 positions was used to carry out the gender pay gap study. It is the most comprehensive wage study in Estonia and has been carried out every year since 1995.