Gender pay differences still striking in Denmark

Pedersen, Henrik Stener

Overview

Article

Gender pay differences still striking in Denmark

Published: 28 September 2004

Henrik Stener Pedersen

Gender equality

Pay and income

The study Men and women’s pay (2MB, pdf; in Danish) [1], conducted by the Danish National Institute of Social Research [2], shows that gender-related pay differences remain a feature of the Danish labour market. The study was based on registered information from approximately one million employees in the period 1997-2001.[1] http://www.sfi.dk/graphics/SFI/Pdf/Rapporter/2004/0410Lonforskelle.pdf[2] http://www.sfi.dk/

The average pay for men is still higher than for women in the Danish labour market, according to a recent study from the National Institute of Social Research. Sector segregation and differences in occupation, educational level and work experience are determining factors but cannot explain the overall observed pay gap.

The study Men and women’s pay (2MB, pdf; in Danish), conducted by the Danish National Institute of Social Research, shows that gender-related pay differences remain a feature of the Danish labour market. The study was based on registered information from approximately one million employees in the period 1997-2001.

The study finds that the wage disparity between men and women remains quite stable over the investigated period of time, with just a small increase observed at the end of the period. Whether the average pay calculations are based on earnings per actual performed working hours (working hours excluding hours of absenteeism) or earnings per paid working hours (including hours of absenteeism), the conclusion is the same: Danish men earn more than Danish women. On average, the pay gap is between 12% and 18%, depending on how the pay is calculated.

**Average hourly earnings per actual performed working hours (in DKK)**
Year	Men	Women	Total	Absolute difference	Pay gap (%)
1997	169.46	149.78	159.34	19.68	12.35%
1998	176.74	155.93	165.97	20.81	12.54%
1999	186.34	164.90	175.50	21.44	12.22%
2000	195.48	172.42	183.61	23.06	12.56%
2001	204.09	178.76	190.18	25.32	13.31%
Note: Actual performed working hours are estimated as working hours excluding hours of absenteeism.

Source: Deding, M. and Wong, K., Mænd og kvinders løn (2MB pdf), Danish National Institute of Social Research, Copenhagen, 2004, p. 62.

**Average hourly earnings per paid working hours (in DKK)**
Year	Men	Women	Total	Absolute difference	Pay gap (%)
1997	163.90	139.60	151.28	24.30	16.06%
1998	169.79	144.62	156.65	25.17	16.06%
1999	178.21	151.68	164.66	26.53	16.11%
2000	186.76	158.78	172.23	27.98	16.25%
2001	195.29	163.34	177.56	31.96	18.00%
Note: Paid work denotes the actual number of hours that the worker is paid for. Hence, paid working hours include absenteeism.

Source: Deding, M., and Wong, K., Mænd og kvinders løn (2MB, pdf), Danish National Institute of Social Research, Copenhagen, 2004, p. 62.

As the above tables show, the gender pay gap in 2001 was 13% for earnings per actual performed working hours and 18% for earnings per paid working hours. The fact that the pay differences are significant even for earnings based on actual performed working hours (excluding absenteeism) indicates that the gender pay gap cannot be explained by a higher average degree of absenteeism among women.

Education and work experience

Differences in length of education and work experience are still important determining factors in explaining the gender pay gap. However, these factors have become less important during the five-year period under observation, given the overall rise in the educational level among women. This indicates that the reasons for the gender pay gap must be found elsewhere.

The study emphasises occupational and sector segregation as two other crucial determining factors in explaining the pay gap. Many women work in lower paid occupations and are traditionally employed in sectors with low pay. Even though the gender difference in educational level is decreasing, there are still significant differences in type of education and, therefore, also occupation and sector. For instance, more men than women are employed in trades, while relatively more women are employed in the health care sector. Furthermore, it is clear that promotion and career progression have a big influence on the level of occupation and pay. In this respect, women in general are more likely to have an interrupted career path.

In addition to the above explanations, other determining factors are gender differences in relation to part-time work and childcare leave.

Gender pay differences by sector

The study shows significant differences in the gender pay gap across sectors. The pay gap is generally higher in the private sector than in the public sector, although the gap is higher in the local government sector when one looks at earnings based on paid working hours.

In 2001, the gender pay gap in the private sector was 14% based on earnings by actual performed working hours and 16% based on earnings per paid working hours. In the state sector, the gap was 8% (actual performed working hours) and 9% (paid working hours). In local government, the gap was 11% and 17%.

**Gender pay gap by sector, 2001**
	Private sector	State sector	Local government sector
Earnings per actual performed working hours	14.18%	8.13%	11.26%
Earnings per paid working hours	15.52%	9.12%	16.80%

Source: Deding, M. and Wong, K., Mænd og kvinders løn (2MB, pdf), Danish National Institute of Social Research, Copenhagen, 2004, pp. 92-94.

Further EU level research on [gender in the workplace](/search/node/ewco OR employment OR gender?oldIndex) is available on the Foundation’s website.

Eurofound recommends citing this publication in the following way.

Eurofound (2004), Gender pay differences still striking in Denmark, article.