A woman earns 1.4% less than a man working in an identical role within the same company. The finding emerges from a study by the Korn Ferry Hay Group, which specialises in HR.
The survey indicates that the average annual gender pay gap is 22% in Belgium, a figure in line with that of the Institute for Gender Equality, which reports a gender pay gap of 20.6%.
As mentioned earlier, the group explains in a communiqué, “On average when a man and a woman have exactly the same role within a given company, the disparity increases to 1.4% in favour of men.” It states that for management positions specifically, this gender pay gap escalates further to 4.1%.
The global gender pay gap can be mainly explained by the seniority level of roles undertaken. Men are proportionately over-represented in high-level positions. The group goes on, “For this reason it is fairer to speak of a ‘career gap’ rather than a ‘pay gap’.” It perceives that “the career gap is more persistent than the pay gap. The career gap is also more difficult to combat.”
The study by the Korn Ferry Hay Group was conducted amongst 560 organisations employing 215,000 people in total.
The Brussels Times
