As a result of Covid,
the gender pay gap and gender inequality from an economic point of view are
increasing
.
According to the 28 / mo report on salaries by ODM Consulting, data from the first half of 2020, the health emergency has frozen the growth trend of salaries for all professional categories and across gender, effectively consolidating the gap.
From over 2,500 to almost 10,000 euros less depending on the position, this is how much the salaries of women differ from those of colleagues in Italy.
"The health crisis has also had effects on the labor market and the business world, with a drop in the employment rate (57.5% in the second quarter of 2020 compared to 59% in 2019, the highest level measured in the last 5 years) and an unprecedented use of support measures such as the Cig, as well as a freeze in the growth trend of wages - comments Miriam Quarti, Senior Consultant and Head of the Reward & Engagement area of ODM Consulting - This happened for both men and women , but the latter, starting from a lower salary level, have felt the weight of this phenomenon more. "
In Italy, gender is a variable that considerably influences wages:
those of men are, on average, higher than those of women for all the professional categories analyzed in the report (Managers, Clerks, Middle Managers, Workers).
It is a phenomenon that manifests itself already upon entering the world of work
: an entry level man under 30 (with one or two years of experience) earns on average € 25,216 if he does not graduate and € 29,780 if he graduates, while with the same degree of study and experience women earn on average from € 23,210 if they do not graduate to € 28,051 if they graduate.
Being in possession of a college degree, therefore, softens but does not smooth out the gender gap.
Having a university degree, in general, increases salaries and reduces the gap between men and women (with the same work experience, the pay gap is 5.5% among graduates and 8% among non-graduates ) however, regardless of their educational qualification and professional seniority, men under 30 earn on average more than women of the same age group.
In the higher grades, the pay gap is lower (8.5% for Executives and 5.5% for Middle Managers versus 10.4% and 10.5% for White collars and Blue collars) However, the inequality remains in terms of representativeness : according to Istat, although in recent years there has been an increase in the presence of women in top positions, only 32% of executives in Italy are women, compared to 68% of men.
"Over the past five years, women's wages have grown more than men's, with the exception of the placement of office workers - continues Miriam Quarti - Although this medium-term trend confirms a general decrease in the gender gap, gender differences remuneration levels remain in all professional categories and for all remuneration components, but in particular it applies to fixed remuneration, less so for variable remuneration, indicating that lower remuneration levels are not linked to lower performance.
The trend towards stable wages in 2020 has therefore consolidated the pay gap. "
