Gender pay gap in the EU: Differences analysis by economic activity and education

“Equal pay for equal work” is one of the fundamental principles of the European Union. However, statistical surveys show that in EU countries the wages differences between men and women are 18% on average. Segregation at the labor market is usually considered at two levels as horizontal segregation and vertical segregation. The point if the horizontal segregation is that women tend to be found in similar occupational groups and economic sectors, whatever the country or culture concerned (men are distributed across a wider range of occupations). Such situation is the result of the stereotype that women are not suited to performing the same jobs as men because they are lack the physical strength, they are less available and they lack the required competences/skills. Vertical segregation has respect to situation that women are represented significantly less than men at senior level (they are concentrated at the lower or intermediate levels of hierarchies and professions).

The most popular measure that describing wages differences is Gender Pay Gap (GPG). It represents the difference between average gross hourly earnings of male paid employees and of female paid employees as a percentage of average gross hourly earnings of male paid employees.

Presented analysis based on the Eurostat data collected within the framework of Structure of Earnings Survey (SES) in years 2002 and 2006 and it is provided for the EU member states. The aim of the research is to analyze the differences between women and men wages in different labor market areas. The labor market areas are defined by economic activity and education. There are applied such tools as follows:

• descriptive statistical tools to analyze data,
• conjoint analysis,
• one equation econometric model.