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08:03, July 19, 2007 |
Women remained less paid than men in the European Union (EU), the European Commission said Wednesday, vowing to bridge the gender pay gap through actions at all levels.
A new report released by the commission showed that across the EU, women continue to earn an average of 15 percent less than men, which has barely changed over the past decade despite the bloc''s continuous efforts to bring them in line.
"Girls out-perform boys at school and more women enter the labor market with a university degree than men, but a pay gap of 15 percent persists. This is an absurd situation and needs to change," said Vladimir Spidla, EU Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities.
The EU''s executive arm said the gender pay gap extends well beyond the question of equal pay for equal work, which is guaranteed as one of the EU''s founding principles. It often results from hidden reasons, the so-called indirect discrimination.
One of the main causes is the way women''s competence is valued compared to men''s, the report said.
Jobs requiring similar qualifications or experience tend to be paid less when they are dominated by women than by men. For example, in some countries nannies earn less than car mechanics, supermarket cashiers less than warehouse workers, nurses less than the police.
The pay gap also reflects inequalities in the labor market mainly affecting women, in particular the difficulties in reconciling work with private life, according to the commission.
Women, who usually have to take maternity leave and care for their families, have greater recourse to part-time work and more frequent career breaks, which negatively impact on their professional development.
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