Wage gap: Women working at colleges earn 11 percent less than men

Female employees at colleges in the Netherlands earn an average of 10.8 percent less than their male colleagues. Female employees are twice as likely to earn unduly low wages and the lost amount is twice as high as for men, according to a study by the Board on Human Rights, NU reports. The human rights institution studied the salary data of 4,301 female and 3,218 male employees at six colleges. On average the men earn a monthly salary of 4,258 euros and the women 3,798 euros. There are 37 colleges in the Netherlands. According to the institution, the six studied colleges form an accurate reflection of the total. The law that requires that salary for men and women who do similar work be determined on equal standards was implemented more than 35 years ago. The difference can partly be explained by differences in job level, work experience or performance. But this does not explain the whole difference. The study revealed that colleges handle more than 30 salary criteria that could lead to a wage gap between men and women. A starting salary, for example, is based of a salary negotiation instead of relevant work experience. "Equal compensation does not mean that all employees must receive the same salary. There are good reasons to pay someone more", according to the institute. "If a good explanation for the difference in salary is lacking however, there is compensation distinction that violates the equal treatment legislation." Following the results of this study, Minister Jet Bussemaker of Education, Culture and Science wants to discuss the problem with the colleges, according to NU.