While the pay gap in Estonia widened in 2022, with women's average gross hourly wages coming in at 17.7 percent lower than men's, last year the gender pay gap shrank to 13.1 percent, which also marked the lowest gap recorded during Estonia's period of independence.

The biggest gap in wages exists in the areas of wholesale and retail trade, information and communications as well as finance and insurance, where women earn on average a quarter less than men do.

Last year, women in Estonia earned on average 1.1 percent more than men in agriculture, forestry and fishing, 2.4 percent more in professional, scientific and technical activities, 5.6 percent more in transportation and storage services and as much as 18.4 percent more than men in other service activities.

In 2022, in contrast, women had only earned more than men in the transportation and storage services sector.

As is the case in the financial sector in general, women working at Swedbank earn around a quarter less than men do. This gap in wages is attributable mainly to the difference in roles, as women in Estonia still tend to hold more menial jobs; at Swedbank, women are mostly in customer service positions, while men tend to work in IT.

"Our gender balance tends more toward women and more men work in IT, and this segregation is relatively present," said Piret Prangel, director of Swedbank Estonia's Employee Relations Department. "Purely comparing just women and men, that's where the pay gap does actually exist."

The pay gap between men and women holding the same position, meanwhile, is significantly smaller, however according to the employee relations chief, men also work more overtime.

At Selver, women likewise make up a larger share of the staff than men, however wages at this supermarket chain are dictated purely by the number of different tasks the employee performs.

"You definitely can't equate employees if one only works as a cashier while another employee is capable of working as a cashier, stocking shelves and working at a service counter," explained Selver business accounting director Kristjan Anderson. "The gap in wages can be very significant here."

The gender pay gap in Estonia remains the largest in Europe. According to Eva Liina Kliiman, adviser at the MKM's Department of Equal Opportunities and Gender Equality, it is expected that the increase in teachers' wages will improve this year's statistics somewhat. Even so, challenges nonetheless persist in several other fields.

"For example, in the information and communications activity field, which also includes the IT sector, there is actually a lot of work being done by companies and the industry to reduce the pay gap and promote gender equality," Kliiman acknowledged. "But we're actually seeing even a slight increase in the wage gap there."

On top of the fact that men and women hold different jobs, according to the ministry adviser, gender stereotypes are likewise a cause for concern in Estonia.

In order to reduce the pay gap, a new wage transparency directive will enter into force in Estonia by 2026 that will require employers disclose salary ranges to candidates prior to even an initial job interview. Large companies will also be required to report on wages.

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