Latest figures on the gender pay gap in Portugal have revealed that women earn 15 percent less than men, translating to receiving €150 less than their male counterparts each month.


According to data released by the government in their Barometer of Remuneration Differences between men and women, in 2017 the average salary for a man in Portugal stood at €1,008.80 per month, compared to only €859.10 for women.


The report claims that when taking into account differences between men and women, such as professional qualifications, literacy or seniority in employment, that the difference between the genders then drops to 11.25% in pay.


“There are factors that explain the gap - different levels of qualification or differences of a professional nature - but after correcting all of this there still remains an inexplicable difference, which can sometimes be explained by being acts of wage discrimination,” said Minister of Labour, Solidarity and Social Security, José Vieira da Silva.


The minister pointed to combating wage differentials between men and women as a priority and argued that “this barometer brings more information about the nature” of this inequality, adding that in the future there may be a correction tool used by companies.


“The companies will know the salary differences that they have in their work places, how they compare with the sector, with the national economy and be supported to define programmes to correct this wage difference that cannot be explained. [...]


“We are in a very important phase, to understand reality, to acknowledge it and to offer companies a picture of their own situation. We will not ask for anything, we will use the existing data so that each company can build salary strategies to reduce inequality, as is already happening in collective contracting, “said the minister.


The barometer, which reveals the differences at national and regional levels and within various sectors, shows that in sectors of activity with more qualified human resources, the gender pay gap worsens, “when it could be expected that the differentials could be closer to zero, “which the minister said could not be dissociated from there being a majority of men in decision-making positions.


“Large companies, listed companies, had and still have huge gender disparities in their management. Perhaps this is not unrelated to a wage gap that is reflected throughout the structure. We introduce progressive goals of balance in decision-making posts. Without intervening directly in the life of companies and their wage policies, the establishment of public policies to occupy management positions will inevitably show that a better balance also has positive consequences on productivity and competitiveness of companies, “said Vieira da Silva.


The sectors of economic activity in which there was found to be the largest gender pay gap between men and women, was found to be in the arts and sports sector where the difference stands at 57.1 percent.


At district level, Setúbal, Leiria, Aveiro, and Lisbon lead the list of the largest gender wage disparities.


The Barometer, prepared by the Strategy and Planning Office, under the supervision of Vieira da Silva, took into account information provided by companies, and refers to the whole country, including the autonomous regions of Madeira and the Azores.


According to the European Commission (EC), the gender pay gap is defined as the relative difference in the average gross earnings of women and men within the economy as a whole.


The EC notes that there are “considerable differences between EU countries, with the gender pay gap ranging from less than 8 percent in Belgium, Italy, Luxembourg, Poland, Romania and Slovenia to more than 20 percent in Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Estonia and United Kingdom”.


A statement from the EC adds: “Since it only concerns salaried people, the gender pay gap is not an indicator of the overall inequality between women and men. The gender pay gap must be looked at along with other indicators linked to the labour market, in particular those that reflect the different working patterns of women”.


Countries which have lower levels of employment for women see in general a lower than average pay gap. High pay gaps are usually more indicative of a highly segregated labour market or of labour markets where a significant number of women are in part time employment.

Author

Originally from the UK, Daisy has been living and working in Portugal for more than 20 years. She has worked in PR, marketing and journalism, and has been the editor of The Portugal News since 2019. Jornalista 7920

Daisy Sampson