No. 28

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Gender Wage Gap in Estonia Needs a Solution

19 December 2013

Politics

RiTo No. 28, 2013

Eleven years ago, the gender wage gap between men and women in Estonia was 22% to the disadvantage of women. In spring 2013 we had to sadly admit that the gender wage gap had reached 28%.

What should we do to bridge the gender wage gap in Estonia? According to the author, we need to begin by implementing all the provisions of the valid Gender Equality Act. Second, we need to make the wages in the public sector fully transparent. Third, the author believes that it is necessary to attract the government’s attention to the under-representation of women in the governing bodies of state-owned companies, taking both managing and advisory boards into consideration. Who, if not the state, ought to set an example for gender consideration? As an EU Member State, Estonia also needs to follow the principles that have long become the norm in other countries. By implementing the experiences of other countries in decreasing the gender wage gap, Estonia can greatly improve the situation and decrease the difference of wages between men and women.

Full article in Estonian

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