Widening gender pay gap in Romania reflects work-life balance problem

Romanian women earned 13 percent less than Romanian men last year, a widening pay difference from below 10 percent in 2010, found a recent report on the gender pay gap issued by the European Commission. The figure, which places Romania among the higher pay gaps in the EU, is, however, below the EU average. Women across the EU continue to earn an average of 16.4 percent less than men. The gap has narrowed slightly from around 17 percent in recent years. The champion on gender pay gap was Poland, with only 2 percent, while Estonia came at the other end of the scale, with 27 percent. Despite the generally slightly positive trend, there are countries where the gender pay gap is widening, such as Romania , Bulgaria, France, Latvia, Hungary and Portugal, according to the EC. The gender pay gap is the average difference in gross hourly earnings between women and men across the economy as a whole. High gender gaps reflect the work-life balance problem, as many women take parental leave and have part-time jobs. In 2010, only 29 percent of business leaders in Romania were women, while the EU average was of 33 percent. The study found that fewer women with children were employed, compared to women without children. It was the other way around for men – more men with children were employed, compared to men without children. Full 2010 report on Romania here For more about the gender pay gap, go here. editor@romania-insider.com (photo source: Photoxpress.com)