The Gender Pay Gap represents the difference between the average male salary and the average female salary for the same role and duties.
This phenomenon is a key indicator of gender pay discrimination and reflects the inequalities that still persist in the labor market.
It can be measured in two main ways:
- By calculating the “raw” Gender Pay Gap, based on the average gross hourly wage difference.
- By evaluating the overall Gender Pay Gap, which considers not only the hourly wage but also the average number of paid hours per month and the female employment rate.
The Current Situation in Italy: OECD Data 2024
The Gender Pay Gap remains a critical issue in the debate on gender inequalities. The latest OECD data, reported in the “Education at a Glance 2024” report, provides an in-depth look at the current situation, highlighting salary disparities between men and women.
According to the OECD report, the Gender Pay Gap varies significantly among member countries but, on average, women earn about 17% less than their male colleagues. In Italy, the gap is even more pronounced: despite Italian women being more numerous (51.2% of the resident population), better educated, and achieving higher grades in school than men, their average salary is only 58% of that of their male colleagues.
This figure, which places Italy among the countries with the highest Gender Pay Gap in the OECD, specifically concerns the overall Gender Pay Gap and takes into account factors such as the high concentration of women in lower-paying sectors, the average number of paid hours per month, the number of part-time female workers, and the presence of women in managerial positions.
The Causes of the Gender Pay Gap
The causes of the Gender Pay Gap are numerous and complex:
- Occupational segregation: Women are often employed in less remunerative sectors.
- Part-time work and career interruptions: Women are more likely to work part-time or interrupt their careers for pregnancies, family reasons, and to take care of domestic and caregiving responsibilities.
- Direct discrimination: In some cases, women are paid less than men even for the same role.
The Consequences of the Gender Pay Gap
Gender inequalities in the labor market negatively affect women’s income, weakening their economic independence and increasing the risk of poverty and social exclusion.
This can significantly contribute to phenomena like economic violence, one of the least recognized forms of violence against women.
In general, the lack of financial autonomy makes women more vulnerable to domestic abuse and less free to leave potentially dangerous situations.
What Can Be Done?
To reduce the Gender Pay Gap, action is needed at various levels.
First, it is important to implement corporate policies for salary transparency while also promoting equality in hiring and career advancement.
Another significant step involves encouraging women’s education in high-paying fields, including training in STEM subjects.
Finally, it is necessary to definitively dismantle the social stereotype that portrays women as naturally predisposed to caregiving work—an enduring cliché that leads many women to leave the workforce to take care of domestic and family responsibilities.
Women’s economic independence is a topic the Museum of Saving regularly addresses through research, events, and both online and in-person initiatives.
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