Swiss women continue to be paid less than men, particularly in the public sector. The so-called gender wage gap got marginally worse between 2014 and 2018 despite persistent political efforts to tackle wage packet inequality.
On average, women were paid 19% less than male counterparts in the same job in 2018 compared to an 18.1% discrepancy in 2014. The latest figures from the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) cover a period of intense public and political debate about the issue, which culminated in a new law in December 2018. Companies with over 100 employees now have to conduct regular gender pay audits and inform employees and shareholders of the results.
The gender wage gap remained roughly the same for the private sector as a whole, but with significant differences between individual sectors. Women were awarded considerably less pay than men in banking and insurance jobs compared to the hospitality industry. In government and local authority jobs, the gap increased from 16.6% to 18.1% in the four-year period.
The FSO figures, released on Monday, also found that excuses for pay discrepancies are wearing thinner. Part of the gap can be explained away by differences in age, work experience and educational qualifications. But the percentage of “unexplained” cases rose from 42.4% in 2014 to 45.4% in 2018. This was particularly pronounced in small companies with less than 20 employees.
This means that CHF684 of extra monthly pay for the average male worker in the private sector appears to have no rational basis. The public sector, which saw a rise in disparity overall, saw fewer unexplained cases of pay difference between men and women in the period covered. However, this still left an average CHF602 extra pay for men each month unaccounted for.
The survey showed that the majority (60.9%) of low paid jobs (less than CHF4,000 or $4,461) were held by women, but this proportion is falling. Four out of five top wage earners (more than CHF16,000 per month) were men in 2018.
Swiss parliament calls for deeper EU security cooperation
This content was published on
The House of Representatives has called on the Swiss government to take a more proactive approach to European security policy.
Switzerland has no US-style fentanyl problem, says health minister
This content was published on
There is very little chance of a US-sized fentanyl epidemic in Switzerland, says health minister Elisabeth Baume-Schneider.
This content was published on
Two fish species recently discovered in Switzerland have been called fluvicola and ommata, following an appeal to the public for names.
Convicted ex-shipowner achieves partial success in Swiss court
This content was published on
The Federal Supreme Court orders lower court to reassess part of its verdict against former Swiss shipowner Hans-Jürg Grunder.
This content was published on
A Swiss moratorium on the genetic engineering of plants, which expires at the end of 2025, could be extended for five years.
SWISS airline achieves second-best profit in history
This content was published on
Revenues soared for Swiss International Air Lines in 2024, contributing to the second-largest profit in the company's history.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Swiss parliament passes salary equality law
This content was published on
Companies with over 100 employees will have to do regular pay equity checks thanks to a new law passed in the Swiss parliament.
Swiss wage gap between genders remains bafflingly wide
This content was published on
The pay gap between men and women in Switzerland has increased slightly, amounting to hundreds of francs per month on average.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.