Gender pay gap smallest on record

Text Mark Taylor
Photo Emil Kalibradov / Unsplash

According to the latest data from Statistics Estonia, gross earnings (earnings before tax) of female employees in 2021 was 14.9% less than their male counterparts. This is 0.7% less than in 2020 and the smallest gender pay gap on record in Estonia.

In 2021, the gross hourly earnings of female employees was 8.48 euros, while for males, it was 9.97. The gap was biggest in financial and insurance activities (25.7%), followed by the wholesale and retail trade (24.2%), human health and social work activities (23.8%), and information and communications (23.5%). 

“As in 2020, transportation and storage was the only economic activity where women earned more than their male counterparts, where there was a pay gap of 5.2%. The wage gap was also small in accommodation and food service activities where men did earn a little more than women, but the gap was relatively small – 5.8%,” said Argo Tarkiainen, analyst at Statistics Estonia.

According to the analyst, the gender pay gap has decreased by nearly 10 percentage points in Estonia since 2013. 

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Argo Tarkiainen Estonia Gender Pay Gap Gross Earnings Pay Gap Pay Gap Estonia Statistics Estonia Wage Gap