Recently released income data from social security files show the income gap between men and women to have widened in 1996. The median gross income per month stood at ATS 27,131 for men and ATS 18,868 for women - the difference being 44%, compared with a gap of 43% in 1995. The overall median had risen from ATS 23,265 to ATS 23,848, an increase of 2.5%. The data are not adjusted for differences in working time, and the 25% share of part-time workers in the female workforce, as opposed to 2% among males, thus pushes the median down. Assuming there was no noticeable change in the proportions of part-timers, the widening of the reported gap does, however, indicate a real development. Among public servants, where part-time work is less likely because it is less available - and where there is a heavy male "overhang" in the relatively poorly-paid police force while there is a female overhang among the better-paid teachers - the median for women stood at ATS 30,532 as opposed to only ATS 28,295 for men.
The median gross income gap between men and women grew between 1995 and 1996. Overall, median income grew by 2.5% nominally over this period, and once inflation, taxes and public fees are taken into account, a decrease in the real net take-home pay may have resulted.
Recently released income data from social security files show the income gap between men and women to have widened in 1996. The median gross income per month stood at ATS 27,131 for men and ATS 18,868 for women - the difference being 44%, compared with a gap of 43% in 1995. The overall median had risen from ATS 23,265 to ATS 23,848, an increase of 2.5%. The data are not adjusted for differences in working time, and the 25% share of part-time workers in the female workforce, as opposed to 2% among males, thus pushes the median down. Assuming there was no noticeable change in the proportions of part-timers, the widening of the reported gap does, however, indicate a real development. Among public servants, where part-time work is less likely because it is less available - and where there is a heavy male "overhang" in the relatively poorly-paid police force while there is a female overhang among the better-paid teachers - the median for women stood at ATS 30,532 as opposed to only ATS 28,295 for men.
The 2.5% increase overall must be seen against the backdrop of 1.9% inflation. Commentators from within the social security administration reckon the 0.6 point difference may not have been sufficient to offset losses incurred from measures associated with the ongoing government budget consolidation. In other words, they reckon there may have been a net decrease in the real take home pay.
The Minister for Women attributed the adverse developments to the continued existence of the "double burden" of household and job. She used the opportunity to announce there would be "clarifications" in family law in order to induce a more equal sharing of household chores between partners. She reiterated the call for equal wages for equal work and suggested that companies with designated schemes for the advancement of women should be given preference in public tendering.
Eurofound recommends citing this publication in the following way.
Eurofound (1997), Male-female wage gap widens, article.
