Gender pay gap: “As persistent as other inequalities”

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At the Department of Sociology’s Chair of Quantitative Social Research, sociologist Dr. Anna Zamberlan Anna Zamberlan investigates gender inequalities in the labour market. She focuses on the reasons why men and women work in different fields, labour market discrimination, and wage disparities.

The 7th of March marks German Equal Pay Day. How close are women and men to earning the same salaries?

Anna Zamberlan: Research shows that the gender pay gap has been narrowing since the 1980s, largely due to higher education levels among women and their increased participation in the labour market. In the 1990s, progress slowed down and nearly stalled in the 2000s. And the gap in pay goes hand in hand with other persisting gender inequalities, such as hiring discrimination, limited opportunities for women to advance in their careers, and workplace biases against mothers. Achieving full equality proves to be challenging.

The power of stereotypes

What are the reasons for their persistence?

Education and work experience have become less important in explaining the gender pay gap. However, occupational segregation still plays a role. Men and women tend to choose different fields of study, leading to different career paths – men are more likely to go into STEM fields, while women are more often found in humanities and care-related professions. For example, I myself am a sociologist. I love sociology and chose this field because it genuinely interests me. But the fact that men and women consistently make different field and career choices suggests that these decisions also mirror societal expectations, possibly from a young age: Families and schools can shape gendered expectations and abilities, often without people even noticing.

Unconscious bias plays a significant role in shaping our perceptions and decisions, which makes it difficult to overcome traditional patterns.

Another enduring factor is hiring discrimination, which further fuels occupational segregation. Both genders face barriers in the opposite gender’s field – for example, men in professions like primary school teaching. Interestingly, we are observing a pattern of more women entering male-dominated fields, while only few men enter female-dominated professions as these are often undervalued and lower paid. Discrimination in the labour market is directed at women also because of their stereotypical role as caregivers. Women, especially mothers, are often seen as less committed to their careers. This affects hiring, promotion chances, and performance evaluations – especially in high-paying jobs with long hours and rigid schedules.

How does the division of housework and childcare affect these inequalities?

It is globally observed that women still do most of the housework and childcare, which makes it harder for them to fully invest in their careers. One of my own studies found that during the COVID-19 pandemic, the additional burden fell disproportionately on women. They took on more childcare and housework responsibilities, reinforcing traditional gender roles.

Such inequality also perpetuates gender stereotypes for future generations: Studies show that the way parents divide household chores influences children’s gender attitudes and, later, their own involvement in unpaid work.

Parental leave policies

How do government and workplace policies, such as parental leave, affect gender inequality overall?

Flexible workplace policies, such as remote work and childcare support, can help balance responsibilities. But in general, if these policies are not universally applied, they may reinforce traditional gender roles.

Gendered parental leave policies, for example, have mixed effects: Long and generous maternity leave may negatively impact women’s careers, as it keeps them away from the workforce for prolonged periods. Paternity leave, on the other hand, has the potential to redistribute caregiving responsibilities within families. However, its typically short duration and nonmandatory nature result in men taking significantly fewer days off after childbirth than women.

The taxation system can also be a barrier to equality: In Germany, by encouraging income splitting, it discourages full-time employment for the lower-earning partner – who is usually the woman. Against this background, gender quotas often come too late, as they are unable to tackle the mechanisms which generate inequalities.

How does Germany compare to other countries in terms of inequality?

It has a relatively high hourly gender wage gap of around 16 percent, which has only slightly declined in recent years. Interestingly, some Southern European countries have lower gender pay gaps than Germany, but this is because fewer women participate in the labour market, and those who do tend to be highly educated and better paid. Therefore, wage gap statistics and rankings are not always informative about countries’ overall gender equality. Another example is that countries with greater women’s participation in the labour market, such as Scandinavian countries, often have stronger gender segregation and, thus, fewer women in STEM careers.

Prejudices deny equal chances of success

Which groups of women are most affected by labour market inequality?

Gender inequality strongly intersects with other social inequalities, such as class and ethnicity. One of my studies shows that mothers from lower socioeconomic backgrounds face more severe hiring discrimination than those from privileged backgrounds, who, for example, have better resources to outsource childcare.Additionally, individuals from ethnic minorities might suffer greater disadvantages than the majority group as perceptions of ethnic minorities appear to be gendered.

Some studies in the U.S. have shown that we tend to associate masculine and feminine traits to minority groups, such as Blacks and Asians. This is an additional factor affecting their likelihoods of success in male- and female-dominated professions.

Does Artificial Intelligence (AI) help or hinder equality in the labour market?

AI has the potential to do both, depending on how it is designed and implemented. On the one hand, it can standardise hiring processes and reduce unconscious bias. On the other hand, if AI systems are trained, for example, on biased hiring decisions, they can reinforce existing discrimination.

What’s your prognosis for the future of gender equality in the labour market?

That’s the billion-dollar question! Progress is slow, as cultural change can take generations and requires deep-rooted shifts. This makes it even more urgent to accelerate the process now and invest in structural factors. Making gender equality a political priority and implementing effective policies – such as equal parental leaves among mothers and fathers and flexible work arrangements – are all missing steps toward full equality.

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LMU sociologist and postdoctoral research fellow Dr. Anna Zamberlan researches gender inequalities in the labour market.

Her research focuses on wage disparities, occupational segregation, the division of paid and unpaid work, and labour market discrimination. Zamberlan’s work further sheds light on the intersection between different dimensions of inequality, among which gender, parenthood, and social class.

Equal Pay Day Germany

Equal Pay Day Deutschland on the 7th of March, is an awareness day that highlights wage inequality between men and women. Initiated by the network “Business and Professional Women Germany”, it advocates for equal opportunities in the workplace and supports women in developing their professional potential. This year, the campaign focuses on the connection between pay transparency and the gender pay gap.