The wage gap is one of the most frequently commented and commonly occurring phenomena that affect the living conditions of women and exacerbate inequalities. In Poland, the GPG index in 2022 was 7,8% (according to survey data Salary structure carried out by Eurostat). How the concepts differ pay gap since gender pay gap? What steps can contribute to the equalization of wages?
Draft law
In December 2024, the Minister of Family, Labour and Social Policy, Agnieszka Dziemianowicz-Bąk appointed a team to supervise the work on the draft law on gender pay equalization in Poland. This project is an implementation of the EU directive and the team includes, among others: Chairman Liwiusz Laska, Director General of the Ministry, representatives of the Ministry, the State Labour Inspectorate, the Public Procurement Office and the Ministry of Justice.
Definition of the pay gap
Let's recall what the pay gap is and how it differs from the concept of gender pay gap:
Gender pay gap This is a broader concept that includes both gross wage gap (unadjusted gender pay gap), as well as Adjusted pay gap (adjusted gender pay gap). It describes the difference in the average salaries of women and men, most often expressed as a percentage of men's pay. It is a term used internationally and takes into account both direct differences in wages and socio-economic factors affecting the wages of women and men.
Pay gap - in Poland this term is often used as a translation gender pay gapHowever, it is used in a narrower sense. Sometimes it refers only to unadjusted pay gap (that is, the difference in salaries without taking into account industry, position or experience), and sometimes only to elements related to wage discrimination. In conclusion: The gender pay gap is a concept that encompasses both the wage gap and the broader socio-economic context that affects the earnings of women and men. The wage gap can take these aspects into account, but in the Polish context it often refers only to the wage gap itself, without taking into account other factors shaping the economic situation of women.
As the GUS reminds:
According to Eurostat's methodology, the GPG indicator is calculated on the basis of average hourly rates of gross total remuneration for paid time of employees. Technically, GPG is the difference between the average hourly gross wage rate of men and women compared to the average hourly gross wage rate of men. The indicator is expressed as a percentage.
How big is the pay gap in the EU and Poland? Latest Eurostat data
The European Union has published data collected by Eurostat, which shows the level of the gender pay gap in individual member states. The average wage gap in the EU was 12% and Poland ranked at 9th place with one of the lowest pay gaps of 7,8%. The smallest wage gap can boast Belgium (0.7%), whereas Luxembourg has no pay gap at all It is the only country where women earn more on average than men (-0.9%!). In turn Largest Gender Pay Gap occurs on Latvia (19%), as well as in Austria (18.3%) and the Czech Republic (18%).
Despite Poland's good result, it is worth noting that the level of the wage gap has not changed since 2022. Meanwhile, the EU average fell by 0.2 percentage point (from 12.2% to 12%), which represents a small but noticeable progress.
Will this data tell us everything? Not necessarily.
The gpd study calculates the difference between the average gross hourly rates that women and men receive and takes into account companies that have at least 10 employees. Despite the hard data, their interpretation should also take into account the high or small share of women in the labour market in the individual EU countries. Other important factors include: the percentage of volunteers working part-time or in a limited number of industries.
What are the causes of the pay gap?
The reasons why there is a wage gap between women and men can be many, we have already written about this in our article Women in the labour market, where we described the impact of segregation and politics on the labor market.
Report of the Institute of Structural Research Gender pay inequality. Measurement, trends, explanations (2015) presented the following reasons for the wage gap:
- Data from the National Bank of Poland confirms that women expect lower wages than men, even though they are better educated.
- In experiments, when participants were offered a salary of 3-10$ and then paid only 3$, until 9 times more men than women They asked for a raise.
- When women were told about the inclinations of others (without information that it was about men), their reactions were similar to those of men. This suggests that lower wage expectations are due to social norms rather than innate characteristics.
Of course, this is only part of the reasons mentioned in the report, and given that the study was conducted 10 years ago, today we can compare its results with more recent reports such as Women, the labour market and equal pay. Report of the Association Congress of Women (2023), which refers, inter alia, to internationalized, structural, social and political activities of a patriarchal nature. Which means, referring to the conclusions of the report of the Institute for Structural Research, that certain patterns of women's actions are a consequence of patriarchal culture, lack of systemic and political support and education to fight for their rights.
According to a report by the Women's Congress Association:
New laws are needed to introduce “hard” tools for the implementation of pro-equality rights. At the same time, “soft” actions should be strengthened to change stereotypes about the role of women in society and increase awareness of equality.
The EU Directive and the New Law
The government says the new regulations are aimed at Strengthening the representativeness of employers' organisationsWhat will be accomplished through the process Consolidation and confederation. The new representativeness criteria should improve negotiations and dialogue between the largest employers' organisations and trade unions, facilitating agreement on key issues. The government side has collected all the demands made by both employers and trade unions to include them in the new regulations.
It is also A step towards the implementation of the EU Pay Transparency Directivewhich aims to close the pay gap. Already in By 2026, companies will be required to submit their first reports about the pay gap. This means Greater transparency of wages, concrete equal pay enforcement mechanisms, regular monitoring and New Responsibilities for Employers.
In fact, we do not have much time, because according to the directive, the first reports on the wage gap are to be prepared for the whole of 2026. So it is worth having the law ready already in the autumn so that everyone has time to prepare for the new requirements.
— highlights Livius Laska, Director General of the Ministry. Experts and business representatives will be invited to work on the bill to better understand the challenges of its implementation. summary
Work on a law implementing the EU Pay Transparency Directive is a key step towards closing the pay gap in Poland. The introduction of the new regulations will not only increase pay transparency, but will also enable more effective enforcement of equal pay principles and monitoring of the gender pay gap.
Although Poland is one of the countries with a relatively low wage gap compared to other EU countries, the absence of its decline in recent years shows that further systemic action is needed. Enterprises and public institutions have little time to adapt to the new requirements, and the first reports will have to be prepared already for the whole of 2026.
Sources
- https://www.pap.pl/aktualnosci/kobiety-w-ue-nadal-zarabiaja-mniej-niz-mezczyzni-wiemy-ile-wynosi-luka-placowa
- https://lewiatan.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/RAPORT-KOBIETY-RYNEK-PRACY-I-ROWNOSC-PLAC.pdf
- https://stat.gov.pl/dla-mediow/komunikaty-prasowe/komentarz-do-artykulu-luka-placowa-to-nie-temat-do-zartow-a-gus-robi-z-danych-parodie-autorstwa-joanny-solskiej-polityka-z-12-12-2024-r-,135,1.html?pdf=1
- https://www.gov.pl/web/rodzina/aplikacja-do-mierzenia-nierownosci-placowych
- https://www.linkedin.com/posts/ministerstwo-rodziny-pracy-i-polityki-spolecznej_radadialoguspoagkecznego-mrpips-pracowiteministerstwo-activity-7295754678980481024-YZsT?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAFM2EBMBk9O65SQw44kutu3WYlFoLy8nVHE
- https://www.oecd.org/en/data/indicators/gender-wage-gap.html
