Average pay for women grows in Lithuania
The average pay for women has grown in 56 sectors after starting releasing information on gender pay gap. Within a matter of three months women’s average monthly pay increased by EUR 20, compared against an EUR 15 increase for men.
After Sodra (Lithuanian Social Security Authority) started publishing sectoral data on average gender pay gap, women’s average pay has grown in 56 sectors out of 81 within the past three months. Women’s monthly average pay increased from EUR 2 to EUR 325 in various sectors. In 13 sectors women’s pay grew by over 10% despite some economic activities where gender pay gap continued to grow for men, these are: insurance, re-insurance, pension accumulation companies, power generation, gas and air conditioning companies, and the pharmaceutical industry.
According to the analysis conducted by Creditinfo Lithuania, from April to July women’s average pay grew from 0.1% to 36.1%, or from EUR 2 to EUR 325 per month. In thirteen business sectors, women’s pay increased by over 10%, with the most remarkable growth reported in accommodation (16.8%), catering and supply of beverages (21.6%), gambling or betting industry (36.1%).
An increase from 10 to 14% in women’s average pay was reported in leather production and water transport, postal and courier activities, organisation of travels, sports activities, and events management, as well as several other sectors, manufacturing of coke and refined petrochemicals, cinema and television programme production, wastewater treatment, programme production and broadcasting, manufacturing of chemicals, extraction of oil and gas.
However, from the already listed sectors only in two of them (postal and courier services, oil and gas extraction) women’s average pay is higher than men’s amounting to EUR 1,856 (cf. men’s pay of EUR 1,552) and EUR 2,851 (cf. men’s pay of EUR 2,248), respectively; whereas in all the other sectors men earn more than women on average.
An average men’s pay is EUR 185 higher than women’s, but the gender gap has been narrowing
Despite the narrowing gender pay gap reported from April to July, in Lithuania men used to earn EUR 185 more than women: men’s average pay currently stands at EUR 1,596 against EUR 1,411 for women. Last April the gap reached EUR 190, with men’s average pay standing at EUR 1,581 against women’s EUR 1,391.
Aurimas Kačinskas, CEO of Creditinfo Lithuania, notes that in the absence of a more in-depth analysis, it is not feasible to assess gender pay gap; examination must be made into the types of positions held by men and women in order to identify the reasons behind differences in salaries.
“Publication of average pay is yet another indicator which can be used by future employees or partners to assess companies; knowledge of this information encourages a better understanding and awareness of the specificities of every company”, A. Kačinskas said.
The gap continues to grow in insurance, reinsurance, financial and telecommunication services, and pharmaceutical industry
Against the background of growing women’s average pay in most of the sectors, in 22 economic sectors the gender pay gap is widening. An average women’s pay dropped by 17.9% in insurance, reinsurance, and pension accumulation sector, where men earned EUR 3,179 per month on average compared to EUR 2,284 earned by women. A gender pay gap widened further from 11.1 to 11.5% in research and technical activities, pharmaceutical industry, power and gas supply, and air conditioning.
Gender pay gap continues to enlarge in the beverages’ industry, immovable property, construction of buildings, telecommunications, and financial sectors.
For instance, in telecommunications an average monthly women’s pay in July stood at EUR 1,602 compared against EUR 2,154 for men, in the financial sector these figures were EUR 2,433 and EUR 3,620, respectively.
The yawning gender pay gap is reported in air transport, where men earn EUR 3,932 per month on average, compared with women’s average monthly pay of EUR 2,385. Human resource management experts put this gap down to a higher number of men engaged in the aviation sector in better paid positions of pilots, whereas women work as flight attendants.
Meanwhile, it is worth mentioning that over three months the number of economic sectors with women earning more than men grew from 9 to 11. The sectors of education, libraries, land transport and transport via pipelines, social work, care services, furniture production, postal and courier services, tobacco and metal production were recently joined by fisheries and aquaculture companies, and motor vehicle manufacturing.
Earlier last June it was reported that, as of last April, out of 81 economic sectors in as many as 72 men receive higher pay than women.
For more information please contact:
Aurimas Kačinskas, CEO of Creditinfo Lithuania, (aurimas.kacinskas@creditinfo.lt; +37061810110).