Analytics, Estonia, Financial Services, Wages

“Unfortunately the gap has increased in a year and Estonia is among leaders in Europe with this. Last year, the gap was 30.3, this year 30.9% and unfortunately the growth trend seems to continue,” Ruul said in ETV’s morning programme.

She said that the problem is wide ranged and one of the reasons is modesty of women. “Employment level of women is one of the highest in Europe in Estonia and in line with economic situation, women are ready to accept work for any wage, just to have a job. Analysing last year, employers pointed out that if they have a man across the table at a job interview, he fights for as high wage as possible since he feels responsibility for family and obligations. Women don’t show such a pressure,” said Ruul.

The wage gap is also facilitated by the so-called pink and blue jobs, or certain jobs are done mostly by women, certain by men.

On Thursday, when the European Union marks the day of equal wages, BPW Estonia will organise a joint action “With dill or without” (Non-translatable word play: the Estonian word “till” means both “dill” and “penis” in colloquial speech). That day many catering places in Estonia post labels that salmon sandwiches (or some other food item) are on sale with two different prices. Salmon sandwich with dill is by the wage gap more expensive than the same sandwich without dill. With the help of wordplay and humour, the women want to draw attention to the fact that the wages of men and women in Estonia differ for the same work.