2024-03-07 05:02:52
Today’s Equal Pay Day draws attention to the pay gap between men and women. Such a day of action is not enough, say two editors – no reason to get excited, says another.
Many people want an equal working world. The reality is often different. The wage gap between women and men is still large. In the same position and with the same experience and qualifications, the difference between the salaries of women and men is around 6 percent (adjusted gender pay gap). Unadjusted – i.e. without taking structural factors such as level of education or scope of employment into account – the gender pay gap in Germany is 18 percent.
That should urgently change, write our editors Laura Helbig and Steve Haak. Mario Thieme, however, doesn’t see this as a problem.
Laura Helbig
The fact that Equal Pay Day and International Women’s Day fall on almost the same day is a coincidence. But perhaps we as women should use this as an opportunity to return to the origins of International Women’s Day – namely as a day of feminist struggle. In the beginning of the movement, which was initiated more than 100 years ago, it was not about flowers or words of encouragement in the form of status pictures on WhatsApp. Women took to the streets and demanded their rights. Strikes and demonstrations are a fundamental part of the history of emancipation.
And maybe it’s time for women to become more radical again. In times when people are demonstrating more and going on strike again, we should also take to the streets more again. Because of the salary gap, we theoretically work for free until Equal Pay Day. This is a great injustice that neither words nor politics have been able to solve. Women, don’t let yourself be fobbed off with flowers and nice words. Look at the cold, hard facts. Draw your conclusions. Stop work – and stand up for your rights again!
Mario Thieme
The fact that the gender pay gap has stagnated at 18 percent for four years is a scandal for many. But upon closer inspection, the supposed injustice turns out to be scandal-free inequality. Breaking down role stereotypes and unlimited professional development opportunities help ensure that young women and young men earn almost the same amount.
The fact that salaries differ noticeably from the age of 30 onwards is partly due to the fact that the statistics include millions of older employees who entered their profession decades ago and were guided by previously prevailing gender stereotypes – in other words, to put it bluntly, women were poorly paid educators and men became well-paid bank employees. However, it is only a matter of time before young people who have internalized equal rights dominate the labor market of the future and the wage gap automatically narrows. All that is needed is patience, not political instruments like the women’s quota.
Family planning is another reason for differences in wages after the age of 30. Many mothers withdraw from the labor market for years, whereas fathers generally continue to pursue their careers. If families decide that the woman takes on the care work and her partner earns the bread, then this is their free decision and not an expression of traditional role models.
There is also no objection if women pursue less well-paid jobs and do so part-time. In a society that has now become equal, there is no stopping them from doing the opposite. The gender pay gap will never completely disappear. The gender criterion is so arbitrary that a comparison is completely meaningless.
The more detailed the analysis, the less scandalous the wage gap is. In East Germany, for example, it is only seven percent; in Cottbus, women even earn one percent more. With the same qualifications and the same job, women across Germany earn around six percent less than their male colleagues. But this so-called adjusted gender pay gap is window dressing because factors such as career breaks are not taken into account. It is therefore only logical that the salary difference cannot statistically be zero and that the six percent is more a coincidence than a structural disadvantage.