Germany‘s Approach in Reducing the Gender Pay Gap

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1 Germany‘s Approach in Reducing the Gender Pay Gap
Katinka Brose Senior Strategy Agent | FPI Fair Pay Innovation Lab Equal Pay: A Thing of Us All Brno, October 11, 2018 “Germany's Basic Law (Grundgesetz) states that women and men are equal and that the state has to promote real gender equality. So existing inequalities in reality have to change – by ensuring equal pay for equal work and by affording women equal access to leadership positions.” Source:

2 21 per cent gender pay gap in Germany
GPG in Germany currently at 21 per cent Stagnation over past 10 years Germany ranks third from the bottom in Europe. only the Czech Republic and Estonia have a higher wage gap. Austria has about the level of Germany. UK is also close. The unadjusted pay gap is 21% wage gap caused by different access opportunities of both gender groups on certain fields of activity or performance groups For the statistically adjusted gender pay gap. these structural differences are eliminated. The adjusted pay gap is at 6% Adjusted pay gap: what you can measure. you can explain and change! Quelle: OECD

3 The gender pay gap – its main causes
Women are still absent in particular jobs and sectors and are missing on company boards and in leading positions Far more women than men take parental leave – for longer periods Equal Pay is neither achieved in individual nor in collective wage negotiations because of undervaluation of women‘s work women‘s inferior negotiation positions women often negotiate a package of wage and flexible work Gender stereotypes still influence our thinking and behaviour, incl. career choices Plus an additional lack of transparency causes that wage differences remain unseen >> the causes are mostly shared among European countries – only their extent varies

4 Enforcing wage transparency
Right to disclosure for employees companies with more than 200 employees asking for wage setting factors and median wage of a control group with min. 6 colleagues Voluntary equal pay auditing companies with more than 500 employees auditing on a regular basis Reporting on equal opportunity measures report on measures implementing equal pay and equal opportunities in management reports Strong call from Civil Society through EPD campaign & Fair Pay Initiative Breaking the taboo not to talk about money Statutory provision entering into force in 2017. >> an individual approach is taken with this law: every employee (in certain companies) can ask, companies have to report. >> UK and Iceland focus more on the company side of the coin >> making a wish: combining both Einführung eines individuellen Auskunftsanspruchs: Arbeitgeber mit mehr als 200 Beschäftigten müssen diesen zukünftig auf Anfrage erläutern. nach welchen Kriterien sie wie bezahlt werden. Den Auskunftsanspruch können Beschäftigte ab dem 6. Januar 2018 in Anspruch nehmen. Betriebliche Verfahren zur Überprüfung und Herstellung von Entgeltgleichheit: Private Arbeitgeber mit mehr als 500 Beschäftigten werden aufgefordert. regelmäßig ihre Entgeltstrukturen auf die Einhaltung der Entgeltgleichheit zu überprüfen. Bericht zur Gleichstellung und Entgeltgleichheit: Arbeitgeber mit mehr als 500 Beschäftigten. die lageberichtspflichtig sind. müssen zudem künftig regelmäßig über Stand der Gleichstellung und der Entgeltgleichheit berichten. Diese Berichte sind für alle einsehbar.

5 Verifying equal remuneration
Logib-D / Equal Pace Measuring the in-company wage gap Internationally applied tool EG-Check Considering equal value of work Evaluating pay schemes with regard to pay equity Monitor Wage Transparency Assessing both wage gap and pay equity Compliance with latest transparency regulations Other tools are also at hand, e.g. EVA-Liste, Equal Salary, EDGE, etc. Logib: Verweis auf die Schweiz >> nur 20% der Unternehmen haben mitgemacht und davon aber über 50% hinterher freiwillig etwas verändert >> Transparenz wirkt!

6 Parental leave and allowances
Parental leave for 12 months 2 additional months when the partner takes leave > now, 1/3 of fathers take paternal leave Parental Allowance Compensating for income when a parent stops or reduces working Min. 300 €, max €, 60 % of monthly net income; max. payment of 14 months Parental Allowance Plus Supporting parents who work part-time soon after the birth of a child One month of parental allowance becomes two months of parental allowance plus Child Care Entitlement to day care for children from age one Funding allocation for day care expansion investment programme to € 1 bil. The parental allowances in this format have been put into practice in 2007. Today around one third of fathers take paternal leave – but most of them take up only the two additional months of leave. For children born in 2015 and later, the regulations have been made more flexible so that parents take e.g. different time sections of parental leave. In general terms, the parental allowances are accepted and hassled to a much more active role of fathers and a more egalitarian division of work. But there are still challenges: a recent study has shown that fathers do not experience a backlash in their careers because of taking parental leave. However, women who only take two months are perceived as cold and face resentments in the labour market.

7 Re-entering the labour market
Project “Perspective Comeback” to Re-integrate women in the labour market smoothly Decrease time of absence Providing access to vocational training Finding strategies to reconcile family and career options Central goal: close cooperation with employers and Federal Labour Office

8 The Equal Pay Day Developed in the USA, today the leading campaign of Business and Professional Women – globally. Die Idee einer Kampagne entstand bereits in den frühen 1960er Jahren – bevor Präsident John F. Kennedy den amerikanischen Equal Pay Act 1963 unterzeichnet hat. Initiated by BPW/USA in 1988 as the “Red Purse Campaign“ 2008 – Brought to Europe by BPW Germany with the first Equal Pay Day Equal Pay Day expanded throughout Europe in 2009/2010 2009 – International Awareness campaign by BPW International launched in New York at CSW 2010 – EU organizes first European Equal Pay Day on April 15 Strong BPW in Czech Republic: each year with a large conference in Praha. Der BPW ist eines der größten und ältesten Berufsnetzwerke für angestellte und selbständige Frauen. BPW Germany ist Teil des BPW International, der in rund 100 Ländern vertreten ist und Beraterstatus bei den Vereinten Nationen und beim Europarat genießt. Inzwischen findet der Equal Pay Day in über 20 europäischen Ländern statt.

9 Next Equal Pay Day in Germany on March 18, 2019
The day shows the period women work for free whereas men already start to earn their wages on January 1 of a given year. The campaign has been initiated by Business and Professional Women Germany in 2008 With financial supported by the German Federal Ministry of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth

10 Valuable Work Starting with Ryanair: you all know Ryanair and have probably flew with them. GPG of approx. 70 per cent because men are pilots, women are flight attendants – and they don't see a problem with that division! Comparable Worth Index: showing for the first time systematically that women‘s work is undervalued – and even more than we thought! Campaign theme 2019: Valuable Work Recalling the numbers we saw before: value of work, industries and branches makes a large part of the gap – across Europe! Frauenarbeit ist in Deutschland noch immer weniger wert – das ist kein Novum. Eine überzeugende Ursachenanalyse gab es bisher nicht – diese liefert die Comparable Worth-Studie nun erstmals schwarz auf weiß: Die Arbeitsvergleichs-Studie hat einen Index entwickelt, mit dem die beruflichen Anforderungen von Frauen und Männern geschlechtsneutral verglichen werden können. Sie kommt zu dem Schluss: Die unterschiedliche Bewertung von Arbeit in frauen- und männertypischen Berufen hat einen großen Effekt auf die Lohnlücke – und er ist größer als bisher angenommen.  Der Gender Pay Gap bei Ryanair liegt bei rund 70 Prozent. Warum? Frauen werden eben Flugbegleiterinnen, Männer Piloten. Etwas daran ändern möchte die Fluglinie nicht, es würden eben andere Berufe gewählt. Bewertung von Pflege und Erziehung, Haushaltsnahe Dienstleistungen vs. Bewertung von Berufen in Produktion >> das was produziert und in der Hand gehalten werden kann, wird häufig besser bewertet und bezahlt >> Produktion und Reproduktion Fragen nach Tarifverträgen >> Zulagen für Überstunden, Erschwernis, etc.

11 What can be done to close the gap?
Let‘s talk about money! Create an open and transparent company culture Equally share care responsibilities and employment Improve reconciliation of careers and care Question gender stereotypes Support women in STEM and men in care professions Move women into leadership positions … to name only a few options Closing with a call to action >> it is important that everybody has a stake!

12 Thank you!