Workers in Croatia are still underpaid, with data from the MojaPlaća service indicating that they earn on average 16 percent less than men, reported the MojPosao portal on Thursday in commemoration of International Women’s Day.
Specifically, they highlighted that the average net salary for men in the past year was 1,290 euros, while women’s salaries were lower, averaging 1,079 euros.
When analyzing salary differences by sector, the most pronounced wage gap between men and women was detected in the sales sector, at 20 percent, and in administrative activities, at 19 percent. On the other hand, the smallest differences were observed in companies engaged in the production, transmission, and distribution of energy, oil, water, and waste, at five percent, and in arts, entertainment, and sports, at six percent. As noted, when comparing salaries for the same job positions, women are on average paid about nine percent less than men.
Thus, looking at job positions, the largest gender pay gap is present among real estate agents, where women are on average paid 33 percent less. For positions such as business development managers, quality assurance managers, digital marketing managers, and .NET developers, the gap is 29 percent each.
On the other hand, women are on average paid more in the roles of chemical laboratory technicians, at 17 percent, CSR specialists and legal advisors, at 12 percent each, and project planners and business secretaries, at seven percent each, reported the MojPosao portal.
Smallest Pay Differences Among the Youngest and Least Experienced
The smallest pay differences are present among the youngest respondents and those with less than a year of experience.
– This supports the theory that the pay gap increases most during the period when women take a career break for family reasons, while their male colleagues continue to advance and gain experience – it is assessed.
The largest pay differences between men and women are in the age group of 45 to 54 years, when men are paid as much as 27 percent more than women. Although this gap decreases towards the end of a career, emphasis is placed on the fact that with years of work experience, the pay gap increases,
– For example, women with less than a year of experience are paid about 11 percent less than men, among those with three to five years of experience the gender gap is 16 percent, while the difference rises to 18 percent among employees with more than six years of experience – noted the MojPosao portal.
They highlighted that besides age and education, geographical location also plays a role in salary differences. Thus, the largest differences were observed in Krapina-Zagorje, Karlovac, and Primorje-Gorski Kotar counties, where men have significantly higher salaries than women, while the smallest differences were noted in Vukovar-Srijem and Lika-Senj counties.
In private companies, larger differences in salaries by gender were observed compared to state-owned companies. For example, in privately owned foreign companies, women are paid 19 percent less than men, while in domestic companies, these differences are somewhat smaller at 15 percent. In state-owned companies, women are paid 13 percent less, while the smallest gender difference is recorded in public and local government, at eight percent.
A Range of Factors Contributing to Gender Inequality in Salaries
In conclusion, the MojPosao portal states that there are a number of factors contributing to gender inequality in salaries, with discrimination not being the only relevant factor. Differences can also be influenced by various job preferences, with women often being more represented in sectors that are traditionally lower paid, such as the textile industry, tourism, sales, and service activities.
Another factor contributing to the gender pay gap is maternity leave. Women are often family-oriented and more frequently take on the role of primary caregiver for children. Maternity leave and absence from work due to childcare can result in a lack of work experience and thus lower salaries for women, it is stated.
Additionally, due to still partially present gender stereotypes, women are often not encouraged to seriously consider their careers and face expectations that direct them towards traditional roles. Discrimination based on gender and the difficulty in identifying the gender pay gap, among other things, is also contributed to by insufficient transparency regarding salaries.
