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Women still earn less than men in Europe

Women in Europe earn on average almost 16% less than men doing similar jobs, according to new data published by Eurofound's European Industrial Relations Observatory (EIRO). The good news is that the gender pay gap in the EU15 countries is shrinking. The bad news, however, is that the pay gap between men and women doing similar jobs in the new EU Member States is wider than the EU average.

Among the 28 countries examined in the report, the gender wage gap is greatest in Slovakia (26.9%) and least in Slovenia (at 6.9%). Belgium, Greece, Ireland and Italy show a notably narrower gender wage gap of 10% or less. In Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands and Portugal, there is a comparatively wider wage gap of 20% or more.

The full text of the report on pay developments is available at http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/eiro/studies/tn0804019s/tn0804019s.htm

21 August 2008