Entgeltgleichheit zwischen Frauen und Männern in mittleren und großen Betrieben

"The project background is the still existing wage gap between men and women in Germany. Although a substantial part of the so called Gender Pay Gap can be traced back to women working part-time more often, interrupting their careers due to childcare and are less likely employed in well payed leadership positions or in high-payment sectors. But even with comparable qualification and occupation, women still earn averagely less than men in the same position. To advance the approach 'equal wage for equal work', a law to promote the transparency of wage structures (Entgelttransparenzgesetz) came into force in 2017. This allows employees in establishments with more than 200 employees to request information from the employer about the wage level that colleagues in comparable positions receive. The aim of the project, which has been conducted on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (BMFSFJ), is the examination of equality of payment and opportunities for men and women. Therefore a comparison between small companies - to which the law will not apply - and big companies has been established. Our analyses showed that only 0.7 percent of all establishments and 32 percent of all employees are covered by the instrument created in the 'Entgelttransparenzgesetz'. The level of the gender pay gap is of further interest. It is smallest in establishments with 50 to 200 employees (20%). However, it is highest in establishments with 200 to 500 employees (28%). The differences by firm size are due to the increasing hourly wages of men in large establishments and the relatively constant hourly wages of women. In large firms more than two thirds of the gender pay gap can be explained by differences in the endowment of men and women, while in small firms only half can be explained by endowment. Overall, the promotion of equality between women and men as a corporate strategy is still not well established in companies. An exception is the specific goal of promoting women in management positions, which is explicitly pursued by half of the large establishments." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))