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: Davulis, Tomas
• Pages: 15-21

15

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

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

4.1 General (legal) context

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

According to the most recent national data available, the annual gender pay gap reached

13 % in 2018 (as compared to 14.2 % in 2017).23 Although Lithuanian figures appear

comparable to average statistics throughout the EU, decomposition of the unadjusted pay

gap indicates that the unexplained pay gap is 24 % and is the largest in the EU.24 The

difference between men’s and women’s earnings is larg ely explained through the

concentration of women in low-paid sectors (sectoral gender segregation) and in certain

categories. The largest wage differences are observed in the financial and insurance sector

(38.3 %), and in information and communication, human healthcare and social work

(33 %). Minor differences are recorded in construction and education, where they do not

exceed 3 %.

4.1.2 Surveys on the difficulties of realising equal treatment at work

A survey in 2008 concluded that in all sectors of the economy women earn less than men;

wages are generally higher in sectors where the majority of workers are male; the highest

salaries are in the banking and financial intermediation sector. The difference between

men's and women's salaries is pa rticularly significan t because women perform low-paid

technical tasks and men do well-paid expert work.25 Another survey suggested that the

transformation to the market economy and privatisation has fundamentally changed

gender segregation in the professions in Lithuania. Occupational segregation rates here

are much higher than in most developed western countries, but similar to those in other

Eastern and Central European countries.26 According to the group of researchers led by

G. Purvaneckien, the participation of Lithuanian women in the labour ma rket is often

determined by th e traditionally based attitude of women and men to the family and

society. The study revealed that there is competition in the field of work for jobs, positions,

salaries. Socio-demographic factors (gend er, age, marital status and roles) often do not

seem obvious, but they are in fact very impo rtant. An analysis of the si tuation of women

and men in the labour m arket revealed that men have better opportunities in the labour

market for a variety of reasons. Despite the higher education levels of women, men are

more likely to be in hig her positions on the career ladder and with hi gher salaries. The

stereotypical view of the role of women in the family, which prevents women from

integrating into the labour market, persists to this day.27

More recent studies also confirmed that differences in the salaries of men and women are

based on unjust and unfair setting of salary rates without considering most of the internal

and external factors. Employers are more likely to a ssign men to more responsible and

better-paid job positions, although the educational indicators of wom en are higher t han

those of men in today’s society. It is more difficult for women to pursue careers, as they

are often forced to agree to occupy job positions requiring lower levels of education and

qualifications. Analysis of differences in the pay of both genders in different age groups,

23 The website of the Lithuanian Bureau of Statistics, available at: https://www.stat.gov.lt.

24 Leythienne, D., Ronkowski, P. (2018), ‘A decomposition of the unadjusted gender pay gap using Structure

of Earnings Survey data’, Eurostat WP, 2018, Table 3.

25 Brazien, R., Guščinskiene砦, J., Jankauskaite砦, M., Pečiriene砦, J., Purvaneckiene砦, G., Šeduikien, J. (2008),

Veiksm planas, skirtas vertikaliai ir horizontaliai darbo rinkos segregacijai mažinti, ypač jaun žmoni

tarpe (18–29 m.) (Action plan to minimise the vertical and horizontal segregation on the labour market, in

particular among young people (18-29 years)), Kaunas.

26 Braziene砦, R. (2005), Socialins stratifikacijos skaitiniai (Readings of social stratification), Kaunas. KTU,

p. 80.

27 Purvaneckien, G., Purvaneckas, A. (2001), Lietuvos visuomens požirio  moteris politikoje kaita 1994–

2000 metais (The changing attitude of Lithuanian society towards women 1994-2000), Vilnius, pp. 43–48.