The pay gap in employment has only improved by 2% across Europe in the last years. The Gender Pay Gap is still considerably large in Europe as gross hourly earnings of women were 14,1% below those of men in the EU (2018 and 2019), calculated for enterprises with 10 or more employees. The highest pay gap in the EU was in Estonia at 21.7% and lowest in Luxembourg with 1,3%. The process of eliminating the Gender Pay Gap has been slow, meaning it will take more than 70 years before the gender gap is closed (EIGE, 2020).
The Gender Pay Gap does not only revolve around earning the same as your male companion in the same job in the same organisation; there are many hidden factors, like unequal payment in between different sectors, jobs given varying importance….
THEREFORE…professional choice matters. This does not mean that everybody has to go for a STEM job, but girls should widen their competences and interests to avoid sector segregation. Even more we recommend to inform oneself on collective agreements. If you have the choice between different options, compare organisational standards and sector specific agreements, even in between different sectors. It is recommendable to be aware of the law and regulations.