THE women earned 5,022 euros less on average than men. Although the pay gap has been significantly reduced over the last decade, it still falls short of the ultimate goal: equal pay between men and women. According to the “2022 Salary Structure Survey” from the National Institute of Statistics (INE), the average salary of men increased by 3.5% to 29,381.84 euros in 2022while the salary of the women increased by 5.1% to 24,359.82 euros.
In summary, The wage gap in 2022 was 17.1% in favor of men, which means that the average salary of women was therefore 82.9% of that of men. However, has the salary gap between men and women increased or decreased compared to 2021 and 2020? According to the same INE study, the average remuneration of men in 2021 was 28,388.69 euros and that of women was 23,175.95 euros, compared to 27,642.52 euros and 22,467.48 euros in 2021.
The average salary of women was 82.9% of that of men.
Leaving aside the wage inequality of more than 5,000 euros, This gap has been reduced by 1.3% in two years.from 18.4% in 2021 to 17.1% in 2022. Part of this increase is due to the increase in the Interprofessional Minimum Wage (SMI), the impact of which has positively favored female employees. 24.2% of women had an annual salary less than or equal to the SMI, compared to 10.3% of men.
In this dilemma, it must be taken into account that certain factors must be taken into account when comparing the salaries of men and women. “This difference must, however, be qualified according to other work variables (type of contract, working hours, profession, seniority, etc.) that have a significant impact on salary,” the INE emphasizes in its report.
Although they are not the only actors who influence the statistics. The wage gap in Spain is very sensitive to age, to the point that among those under 25, it is women who receive a higher salary on average. However, as ‘Funcas’ points outThis trend changes dramatically among older workers. In the group close to retirement age, the wage gap reaches 13.5%, and in the over-65 group – a bracket with a tiny percentage – the inequality is even more pronounced.
Sectors also influence the pay gap
Just like age, type of contract or working hours, sectors also generate a higher, and in rare cases lower, employment rate. pay gap. A reality that is confirmed by the INE data. If at the general level the difference is 5,022 euros, men who work in financial activities earn 11,754 euros more than women, with salaries of 53,969 euros per year and 42,214 euros respectively.
Men working in financial activities earn 11,754 euros more than women
The same trend is observed in energy supply. The economic activity that had the highest annual salary in 2022 has the second largest gender pay gap with a difference of 7,942 eurosIn the energy sector, men earn an average of 53,969 euros per year. Their salary, however, is reduced to 42,214.85 euros.
It is worth noting that there are two professions in which women are better paid than men. In Construction, for example, women earn on average around 26,258.91 euros while men earn 25,001 euros. The same thing happens with mining. In this profession, men get almost 8,000 euros lessthat womenthe female salary being 42,851 euros and that of men 35,064 euros.
The pay gap has narrowed over the past decade
The gender pay gap in Spain has been reduced by 10 percentage points in a decade, falling from 18.7% in 2012 to 8.7% in 2022. An even higher milestone compared to the European Union average. The Spanish figure, in 2022, was four points lower than the European Union average (12.7%), while in 2012 it was more than two points higher.
Funcas, through a press release, highlighted the progress in this area over the last decade: “Despite these obvious differences according to age, since 2012, the reduction Wage inequality can be considered a cross-cutting phenomenonaffecting both young and older workers. For example, the pay gap among those under 25 stood at 8.3% in 2012, but has been negative since 2019, reaching -3.8% in 2022. Among workers closest to retirement age, the pay gap has narrowed over the same period by more than 10 percentage points, from 24.2% to 13.5%.
Finally, one of the keys to the narrowing of the wage gap curve has been the reduction in wage inequality in Spain, specifically Full-time wages saw further reduction in gender gap compared to part-time work: “By 2022, the pay gap in full-time jobs had been reduced to 2.3%, while in part-time jobs, although it had also decreased, it remained considerable, at 18.7%”.
