Gender pay gap still conspicuous in Czechia

A new study cited by ČTK has found that women in the Czech Republic get paid less than men on average for the same roles and type of work, due to motherhood and career breaks. Women employed in the same job position as men, with the same function, earn 12 percent less than their male counterparts.

The study assessed men and women aged between 30 to 55 years in 15 different countries in order to study the effects of motherhood on professional development.

The findings, released Monday, came from an international study conducted by academic institutions that included the Czech Institute of Sociology of the Academy of Sciences. The analysis also found that men earn almost 25 percent more on average per year than women.

According to Czech sociologist Alena Křížková, the difference in salaries in Czechia “is related to motherhood and career breaks for women, [and] to the unavailability of care facilities for the smallest children or little support for sharing parental leave between partners,” ČTK writes.

Another reason for the pay gap, explains head of the “Equal Pay Day” project at the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs Lenka Simerská, is that men are seen as more “enterprising” and assertive than women, thus getting paid more for their perceived higher levels of competence. 

Simerská also explains that in sectors with a shortage of men – such as education and healthcare – men are more sought-after, and therefore get higher wages. “In order to keep him, they pay the man extra,” she explains in iRozhlas.cz.

Aside from directly affecting women, the pay gap also causes wider issues. “If women are undervalued and bring less to the family budget, they also spend less, less is collected in taxes, social insurance, and so on,” Simerská elucidates. 

If women are cohabiting with a partner and/or raising children, the pay gap will affect families. Simerská explains that this happens by putting more pressure on the father to work harder and longer, negatively affecting the children too.

The pay gap in annual earnings was particularly pronounced in the U.S. and South Korea, with differences of 24 and 33 percent respectively. 

The smallest differences in pay for the same job positions were found in France and Denmark, with pay gaps of 6 and 7 percent respectively. 

Eurostat reported in 2020 that the Czech Republic had the seventh-largest pay gap in the EU.

A potential solution is more transparency, a representative from the Ministry of Labor suggesting, such as speaking more openly about one's earnings. Another, which is mandatory by law in Slovakia, is including in job postings the salary range of the advertised position.