Equal Pay Day: Why women work for free up to this date

TheEqual Pay DayOriginally comes from the USA and is an international day to draw attention to the gender -specific wage gap between women and men.

TheEqual Pay DayAlways take place that day of the year until women work free of charge, so to speak. Let us assume that men and women would get the same hourly wages for their work, the Equal Pay Day marks the day until women work for free, while men are paid for their work from January 1st of the year. In Germany this day falls on March 7, 2025 this year.

At theGender Pay Gapit is the gender difference in the gross hourly wage between women and men. Experts divide them into the uninanced and the adjusted gender pay gap. The general salary difference between all women and men is summarized under the unmolved gender pay gap.

The adjusted gender Pay GAP, on the other hand, takes into account additional factors that, apart from gender, can have an impact on the salary. For example the industry, the career level or whether it is worked in full or part-time. The determined value of the adjusted gender pay gap refers to women and men who perform a comparable activity and have similar qualifications.

According to theFederal Statistical OfficeThe gender Pay GAP 2024 in Germany was 16 %. In the comparison of East and West Germany, the gender Pay GAP is significantly higher in the west at 17 % than in the east with 5 %.

The average difference in earnings in Germany has decreased by two percent compared to the previous year and therefore only flies very slowly. In international comparison, Germany is anything but good. Only in Estonia and the Czech Republic is the wage gap even greater than ours.

But why is that?

One reason for the great difference in earnings is the career choice of many women. Because many still work in women-dominated professions such as upbringing and care, which are unfortunately increasingly paid than, for example, positions in the male-dominated MINT professions.

Compared to their male colleagues, women also interrupt their work more often due to pregnancy, parental leave or for the care of relatives. This has an impact on the development of your income and opportunities for advancement in management positions. Women also work part -time more often due to the family.

All in all, of course, this shouldn't be a reason for less wages.

Adjusted gender pay gap: women still earn less

Critics of the Gender Pay Gap explain that the gross wages of women and men are not comparable because they pursue different professions in different positions. However, if you only compare women and men who work in the same industry and position, there is still a salary difference of 6 %. And that's 6 % too much!

It is no secret that women usually spend more time for so-called care work. Regardless of whether homework, voluntary work, the care of relatives or child rearing: according to thatFederal Ministry for Family, Seniors, Women and YouthWomen spend an average of 52.4 % more time with unpaid care work than men.The gender Care Gap is terrifyingly large.

But what does that mean specifically? Women not only use more time for unpaid work than men, but the gender Care GAP also has a massive effect on the career opportunities of women. Because of the non-professional engagement, women work much more often in part-time jobs than men. The result: women earn less and can therefore even save less for old -age provision, so that they are more threatened with poverty in old age.

Often this unpaid work is still taken for granted. However, both partners are to be equal in a relationship if the concern work should be distributed evenly so that women also have equal opportunities on the job market. Because care work is not a “women's work”!

Another problem in the struggle for more equality: in the rarest of cases, salaries are communicated openly and transparently. As a result, the unequal treatment does not even become visible. One goal should therefore be more transparency and a legally defined right to provide information. This is the only way we can draw attention to the problem. If you return the topic of "money" and "salary" under the table, nothing will change. There is nothing to ask yourself after work in silence whether the colleague does not earn much more, despite the same qualification and activity. We have to learn to deal with it openly.

In addition, it is not enough to justify the gender Pay GAP with the fact that women simply decided on poorer or “women -typical” professions. Because many women are influenced in their choice of roll stereotypes.

The goal should therefore be to dissolve typical role models so that the choice of career cannot be influenced unconsciously. Quite apart from the fact that, for example, occupations from the areas of education and care generally deserve better remuneration.

The Equal Pay Day draws attention to this problem every year and tries to raise more awareness of salary differences so that they can be adjusted in the long run. It is to be hoped that at some point we will no longer have to celebrate the Equal Pay Day, and if so, please on January 1 of the year, because then women would not have worked “for free”.