Friday, 7 March
Equal Pay Day: Women in Germany work 66 days ‘for free’
The latest figures from the Federal Statistical Office show that in 2024, the gender pay gap stood at 16 percent. The previous year’s data, on which this year’s Equal Pay Day is based, showed an 18 percent gap, meaning that for nearly a fifth of the year, women worked without pay in comparison to men.
The disparity is deeply embedded in the labour market. Women are still more likely to work in lower-paid sectors, take career breaks for childcare, and work part-time — often out of necessity rather than choice. According to the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB), women make up over 70 percent of the social work sector, where jobs are notoriously underpaid despite their essential role in society.
A study by the Hans Böckler Foundation underscores the issue. Based on factors such as skills, responsibility, and working conditions, a preschool teacher should earn as much as an electrical engineer. In reality, the teacher makes 18 euros per hour, while the engineer earns 30 euros.
Equal Pay Day campaign leader Uta Zech argues that systemic factors are to blame. She calls for the removal of spousal tax splitting, which discourages secondary earners (usually women) from working full-time, and for greater wage transparency, which EU regulations will soon mandate.
