2023 Author: Gabrielle Mercer | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-05-21 12:25
Women lose an average of EUR 10,000 gross annually. A Viennese social media agency is now drawing attention to the problem.
One job - two salaries: 250 euros less for a job if you apply as a woman.
Um, please how? We just came across the following job advertisement:
Wanted: office clerk
Men: € 2,500
Women: € 2,250
When you click on it, however, the explanation for the gender-split salary information: Behind the ad is an online campaign by "Toman + Meyer", a social media agency from Vienna. Managing Director Thomas Meyer, 34, explains: "There are many things that still have to be done in terms of equality, but for me the gender pay gap is probably the most unbearable form of discrimination." Together with his team, he now has the initiative "#GleichIstGleich" launched and wants to show how blatant the wage differences between men and women are still. "From an economic point of view, there is of course a percentage that can be explained by part-time models, parental leave, etc."
Inset: A study by Statistics Austria shows that almost half of women in paid employment work part-time - but not always voluntarily. 55 percent of them have to cut back on working hours because there is often no other way due to inadequate childcare. In industries such as care or trade, jobs with a workload of less than 35 hours are also mainly offered.
"Then there is still this residual difference between the salaries of men and women, which can be traced back to sheer arbitrariness and an existing role model," says Meyer. Calculated on an annual basis, this amounts to an average of 10,000 euros in this country, which women earn less than their male colleagues in corresponding positions. Converted, that means that we will work for free from October 21 this year. Compared to the previous year, an improvement of one day … Incidentally, when comparing the federal states, Vienna is ahead with “only” 14.5 percent less earnings, while Vorarlberg comes in last with 27.2 percent.
Meyer's concern therefore: to generate attention. “Especially in Austria, a country where there is little openness and transparency in terms of salaries, it is important to educate! The topic must be given more visibility. And words must be followed by deeds, and that is exactly where we are. We are not allowed to continue any dependencies, but have to break them down and create space for decisions."