Wage gap unchanged: Women need 25 years to get equal pay

Women have gained little ground on men when it comes to the wage gap, according to a biannual report produced by government statistics office CBS. The report showed that women working in government jobs in 2018 earned about eight percent less per hour than men on average, and about 19 percent less in the business world.

The results meant it could take 25 years for women to achieve equal pay in the Netherlands, the CBS said.

Those percentages were no different in 2016. Men were paid by businesses an average of nearly five percent less per hour than in 2016, €25.80, and women being paid about one percent more, or €19.80. Civil service jobs in 2018 were paying men about one percent more than in 2016, €32.81, where women earned an average of €25.69. That was over seven percent less than they took home two years earlier.

Those figures were based on raw data which did not take into account employee details, like demographics, education and time on the job. It also did not account for sector, business size, or job responsibilities. 

Using those details and adjusting the statistical data accordingly, the CBS said that in 2018 "the wage difference between men and women was 7 percent in the business world and 4 percent in the government." The business wage gap remained the same after two years, while government improved slightly from a 5 percent difference in pay.

The CBS said that part of the wage discrepancy was also attributable to the age of the work force, with older workers typically paid more. Government offices had many female employees under the age of 35, but most of the men working their were over 55. The agency showed that women in their twenties were paid a higher wage on average than men in the same group.

The reverse was true of employees in their thirties working in the business world. "This difference increases with each older age group, to about 7 euros for people in their sixties..

Women did improve their standing in leadership roles, with 40 percent of government management roles and 34 percent of business leadership positions held by women. Two years ago, those totals were 38 and 33 percent respectively.