Wages/Inequality

16^th November 2009

German women continue to earn a quarter less than German men on average but the gap is five times higher in the West than the East. According to data published on 12th November by the Federal Statistics Office (Destatis) in 2008 women working in the west of the country earned 25% less than men whilst those working in the former GDR earned 5% less. Moreover although the difference in salaries has decreased by one percentage point in the new Länder it has increased as much in the west. The difficulty in reconciling professional and family life, the fact that important positions are taken mostly by men, notably in sectors where the wage differnce is greatest and the importance of part time work amongst German women help to explain the continuation of these differences.

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