Women in Croatia Earn on Average 14 Percent Less Than Men

According to an analysis from the MojPosao portal, women in Croatia earn on average 14 percent less than men, as the average net salary for men over the past year was 1,498 euros, while women earned an average of 1,289 euros.

A detailed analysis shows that the income gap is significantly smaller when comparing men and women performing the same jobs, but the difference still exists and amounts to about nine percent in favor of men.

The smallest salary differences are observed among the youngest workers. In the age group of 17 to 24 years, women earn 13 percent less than men, while in the age group of 25 to 34 years, this difference increases to 14 percent.

The most pronounced gap is observed in the group aged 35 to 44 years, where men are paid as much as 21 percent more than women. These data confirm the thesis that the salary difference deepens during the period when women more often take career breaks due to family obligations and maternity leave, while their male colleagues continue to advance in their careers.

The gender pay gap in later stages of professional life – in the age group of 45 to 54 years amounts to 19 percent in favor of men, and among workers over 55 years old, it falls to 12 percent.

Men with less than one year of experience earn 10 percent more than their female colleagues, while among employees with three to five years of experience, this difference increases to 16 percent. Among those with more than six years of experience, the salary gap reaches 19 percent.

The Largest Difference in Zagorje, Međimurje, and Lika

The largest differences in favor of men are in Krapina-Zagorje and Međimurje counties, where men are paid 23 percent more than women, and in Lika-Senj County, where this gap amounts to 22 percent. On the other hand, the smallest differences are in Virovitica-Podravina and Koprivnica-Križevci counties, with a difference of five and four percent, respectively, between the salaries of men and women.

In the City of Zagreb, men earn 17 percent more than women, which is slightly above the national average.

When observing differences by sectors, the most pronounced salary gap is present in sales (+22 percent), the IT sector (+19 percent), and tourism and hospitality (+18 percent). On the other hand, the smallest differences in salaries between men and women are recorded in the sectors of production, energy, water, and waste distribution (eight percent), manufacturing and craft services (10 percent), and health and social care (+11 percent).

In private companies with foreign ownership, women are paid 16 percent less, while in domestic private companies, this difference amounts to 13 percent. In state-owned enterprises, the gap is slightly smaller at eight percent, while the smallest salary difference is recorded in jobs in public and local administration, where women earn three percent less than men.

When observing individual job positions, the most pronounced salary differences are present in the positions of customs declarant, where men have a salary 41 percent higher, facility manager and hotel manager (+39 percent), head chef (+38 percent), and production director (+36 percent).

On the other hand, there are professions where women are on average better paid than men, such as in the positions of accountant, where men on average have a salary 47 percent lower than women, nurses where men have a 44 percent lower salary, auditors (11 percent), sanitary engineers/technicians (10 percent), marketing assistants (nine percent), librarians (eight percent), and dentists (seven percent).