DECREASING THE PAY
GAP IN EUROPE TO
INCREASE GENDER
EQUALITY
Academic writing part 1
APRIL 4, 2022
THE HAGUE UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES
EUROPEAN STUDIES
FIONA VAN DEN ENDEN
ES4-2C
Uttara Jibodh (20170734)
, Decreasing the pay gap in Europe to increase gender equality
Women continue to earn less per hour than men throughout all European Union member
countries. Working women within EU earn 14,1 percent less per hour than working men.
Even yet, there are significant variances amongst EU member states. Despite the fact that
the equal pay for equal labour concept was enshrined in the Treaty of Rome in 1957,
the gender pay gap strives, with just minimal advances made in recent years (Understanding
the Gender Pay Gap: Definition and Causes - EU Monitor, 2016). Despite recent advances,
gender disparities in labour market participation and remuneration continue, resulting in
lower employment rates for women and potentially impeding EU development. Increasing
women's employment participation and reducing the pay gap between men and women will
benefit EU economic development (How Closing the Gender Labour Market Activity and Pay
Gap Leads to Economic Growth, 2019) It is a necessity to reduce the gender pay gap in the
EU as this will benefit women by creating greater gender equality while reducing poverty
and stimulating the economy.
Poverty and gender inequality are both examples of social injustice. These severely affect
human rights, people's well-being, and the ability to reach one‘s full potential in life. Despite
attempts to promote gender equality, women continue to be impoverished in the EU
member states, putting them at a higher risk of poverty. Gender inequalities in the labour
market have a negative impact on women's incomes and occupational pensions. Because of
the wage disparity between men and women, women are more likely to experience poverty
during old age. In 2020, women over the age of 65 in the EU earned pensions that were 28.3
percent lower on average than men's pensions. The issue varies by member country, with
Malta having a 41.5 percent pension deficit and Estonia having a 0.1 percent shortfall
(Europe, 2020). This, in turn, has the ability to weaken women's economic independence
and raise their risk of poverty and social isolation on a systematic basis. This proves how
important it is to decrease the pay gap to reduce poverty, through the member states of the
EU(Understanding the Gender Pay Gap: Definition and Causes - EU Monitor, 2016).
A more gender-equal EU would have significant, lengthy positive GDP effects, higher levels of
employment and production, and the ability to respond to issues associated with the EU's
aging population. The GDP consequences of reducing the gender pay gap are substantially
lower, with a 0-0.2 percent rise in GDP per capita during the 2030-2050 timeframe. Closing
1
GAP IN EUROPE TO
INCREASE GENDER
EQUALITY
Academic writing part 1
APRIL 4, 2022
THE HAGUE UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES
EUROPEAN STUDIES
FIONA VAN DEN ENDEN
ES4-2C
Uttara Jibodh (20170734)
, Decreasing the pay gap in Europe to increase gender equality
Women continue to earn less per hour than men throughout all European Union member
countries. Working women within EU earn 14,1 percent less per hour than working men.
Even yet, there are significant variances amongst EU member states. Despite the fact that
the equal pay for equal labour concept was enshrined in the Treaty of Rome in 1957,
the gender pay gap strives, with just minimal advances made in recent years (Understanding
the Gender Pay Gap: Definition and Causes - EU Monitor, 2016). Despite recent advances,
gender disparities in labour market participation and remuneration continue, resulting in
lower employment rates for women and potentially impeding EU development. Increasing
women's employment participation and reducing the pay gap between men and women will
benefit EU economic development (How Closing the Gender Labour Market Activity and Pay
Gap Leads to Economic Growth, 2019) It is a necessity to reduce the gender pay gap in the
EU as this will benefit women by creating greater gender equality while reducing poverty
and stimulating the economy.
Poverty and gender inequality are both examples of social injustice. These severely affect
human rights, people's well-being, and the ability to reach one‘s full potential in life. Despite
attempts to promote gender equality, women continue to be impoverished in the EU
member states, putting them at a higher risk of poverty. Gender inequalities in the labour
market have a negative impact on women's incomes and occupational pensions. Because of
the wage disparity between men and women, women are more likely to experience poverty
during old age. In 2020, women over the age of 65 in the EU earned pensions that were 28.3
percent lower on average than men's pensions. The issue varies by member country, with
Malta having a 41.5 percent pension deficit and Estonia having a 0.1 percent shortfall
(Europe, 2020). This, in turn, has the ability to weaken women's economic independence
and raise their risk of poverty and social isolation on a systematic basis. This proves how
important it is to decrease the pay gap to reduce poverty, through the member states of the
EU(Understanding the Gender Pay Gap: Definition and Causes - EU Monitor, 2016).
A more gender-equal EU would have significant, lengthy positive GDP effects, higher levels of
employment and production, and the ability to respond to issues associated with the EU's
aging population. The GDP consequences of reducing the gender pay gap are substantially
lower, with a 0-0.2 percent rise in GDP per capita during the 2030-2050 timeframe. Closing
1
