Do women and men have equal opportunities? This very emotional debate often lacks reliable statistical data. A study conducted by the Johannes Kepler University Linz explored this issue.

JKU’s Institute for Women's Studies and Gender Research, explains: "When it comes to recent graduates, factors such as professional work experience do not yet play a major role." Reliable data, however, is scarce. In collaboration with Juliane Ransmayr, MSc (also at the Institute for Women's Studies and Gender Research), Univ. Prof. Dr. Doris Weichselbaumer accessed particularly comprehensive records from Germany (data from the German Center for Higher Education Research and Science Studies - DZHW). Weichselbaumer remarked: "Given the similar structures, we can safely assume that the results can also be applied to the Austrian situation in terms of trends." She also points out, however, that the most recent DZHW data available relates to graduates from 2013.

The Gap is Consistent
The researchers compared graduates' earnings over a 16-year period, looking at salary prospects for women in male-dominated disciplines and professions and, in turn, the prospects for men in female-dominated occupations. "Degrees in female-dominated subject areas and female-dominated professions are less well paid," explained Weichselbaumer. The study results confirmed as much that both genders earned less when working in jobs that are considered to be typically "female-dominated". The JKU researcher added: "However, both men and women have the same disadvantages as graduates in female-dominated fields."

The presumption that men who pursue a female-dominated degree program experience an even greater loss of income than women because they also breach their gender role has not been confirmed. The wage gap is very apparent in male-dominated fields, such as engineering and natural sciences. Although women in "male-dominated professions" earn significantly more than their female counterparts working in "female-dominated professions", their salaries do not match those of their male colleagues. "Sadly, we can see that over the years, the gap has remained relatively constant," Weichselbaumer commented.

Greater Transparency is Required
The gender pay gap for the same qualifications and the same profession is between 5% and 6% in the period observed. Not surprisingly, the gap is most significant in the engineering and natural sciences sectors. There is some hope: Weichselbaumer added: "We know that the gender pay gap has decreased in Austria somewhat." However: "Austria continues to rank second to last in the EU ranking."

She hopes for greater transparency regarding salaries, as proposed by the EU. Although larger companies in Austria are required to provide income reports, at present, these reports are not permitted to be made public. In the UK, these reports are publicly accessible and have helped to equalize salaries. "These kinds of measures are crucial. As part of a job ad, a legal requirement to indicate a minimum salary, plus a willingness to pay more, has also helped," notes Weichselbaumer.

As a result, women have been encouraged to demand higher salaries. Although a small step, it is an important one so that one day in the distant future, there will perhaps no longer be such a pressing need for a "Gender Research Day".

Inquiries:

Univ. Prof. Dr. Doris Weichselbaumer
Institute of Women’s Studies and Gender Research
Ph.: 0732 2468 3737
E-mail: doris.weichselbaumer(at)jku.at