Equal pay and equal treatment at work (Article 157 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) and Recast Directive 2006/54)

• Author: Genoveva Tisheva
• Pages: 28-36

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4 Equal pay and equal treatment at work (Article 157 of the Treaty on the

Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) and Recast Directive 2006/54)

4.1 General (legal) context

4.1.1 Surveys on the gender pay gap and the difficulties of realising equal pay

There have not been surveys specifically focused on equal pay but the data given by official

sources in Bulgaria are as follows:

According to the National Statistical Institute (NSI) from its latest report on data about

women and men from 2018, the educational level of working women is higher compared

to men. The percentage of women with a university education is 40.1 % and working men

with such an education make up only 23.9 %. For the whole period from 2000 to 2016,

the average remuneration of men is higher than that of women. After 2007, the tendency

for an increase in men’s remuneration is even more noticeable. In almost all economic

activities the gender pay gap (GPG) is visible. The highest gap is recorded for the sector

‘Health and social work’з where the remuneration of women is 38.4 а lower than men’s

and in ‘Finances and insurance’з the GPG is он.м %. The remuneration amount is directly

connected with the achieved educational level. The persons with a higher educational level

of ‘doctor’ are th e ones most highly paid – almost twice the average monthly sala ry for

the country. For all educational levels, the salaries for men are higher than the ones for

women. The GPG is h ighest at t he educational level of bachelor’s and master’s degree –

the gross monthly pay of women with the same levels of education is 26 % lower than

men’s.41 This is official information about GPG in groups with the same or comparable level

of education, within the same sectors and sub-sectors.

The GPG is expressed further in the v alue of pensions. In the segment of retired persons

with low pensions, the ratio of women is higher. 89.5 % of women receive a basic pension

of up to BGN 400 (about EURO 200), as do 62.7 % of men. 42.2 % of women and 17.3 %

of men receive a basic pension of up to BGN 200 (about EUR 100). The maximum amount

of BGN 910 (about EUR 450) is received by 45 567 men and only 8 189 women.42 Here, it

is not possible to say clearly if it is among same educational level. Su ch figures are not

available.

It is indicative to mention the data presented by the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy

(MLSP) in their Draft report for the implementation of gender equality policy for 2018: The

report displays the GPG for 2017 according to the NSI – 12.7 %, which is said to be lower

than the figure for 2016 – 13.2 %. Compared to the average percentage of GPG in the EU,

which is 16 % according to EUROSTAT, the figure for Bulgaria is lower. It is the conclusion

of the MLSP that the data mentioned about the GPG should not be regard ed as an

expression of inequality between women and men. It is said that differences are

conditioned by characteristics of the employers and the concrete economic activity, the

size of the firm, as well as by the individual characteristics of the employed persons – age,

educational level, qualification, profession, and expertise. The reasons for the GPG include:

traditions and stereotypes in the selection of education, which leads to sex segregation of

the labour market; career development – delayed career development, longer maternity

leave, difficult balance between work and family life; the new production technologies and

the requirements for continuous training, vocational training and capacity building, which

is a challenge for women who have to combine it with family obligations and chose family

or work.43

41 National Statistical Institute – ‘Women and men in Bulgaria’з ‘    ’ 2018,

http://www.nsi.bg/bg/content/16817//------2018.

42 Ibid.

43 Draft report on gender equality for 2018 – no official document yet, MLSP – April 2019.