The difference between the pensions of women and men in the Republic of Moldova is of over 17%. At the same time, the women’s salaries are by 12% lower than the men’s on average. The data of a study on the issue were presented by the Partnership for Development Center and the Platform for Gender Equality. The Platform’s vice president Alina Andronache, in a news conference at IPN, said the women must work by over a month and a half more than the men to reach the men’s annual salary.
According to the study, the differences in the pensions of women and men increased over the last few years. In 2011 women’s pensions were by 12% lower than men’s, but in 2014 the discrepancy rose to 17%. The discrepancies in salaries, pensions and incomes make the women more dependent on social welfare.
On February 19, the members of the Platform for Gender Equality celebrate the Equal Pay Day. According to them, namely on this day a woman from Moldova reaches the annual salary of a man for 2015. Alina Andronache said that most of the women work in poorly paid sectors or in posts that are more inferior than in the case of men. “Usually, the women go on leave more often than men and for a longer period, such as the maternity leave. When the woman returns to work, this period is considered as time when the woman loses her personal abilities,” stated Alina Andronache.
According to the authors of the study, the difference in salaries is like an invisible tax paid by 93% of the working women. Thus, in 2014 the women received by over 7,000 lei on average less than the men. “By areas, for example in the printing industry, the pay difference represents 57%. In this sector, the women annually lose 57,000 lei. In the IT sector, the difference is 37%, with the women losing 45,000 lei a year,” said the head of the Partnership for Development Center Alexei Buzu.
The study authors said the pay difference is due to factors that are related to indirect discrimination on the labor market and discrimination at the workplace. The study shows that the women accept to work in sectors where the salaries are lower and in more inferior posts than men. The women interrupt the professional life more frequently and for longer periods of time. The gender wage gap can be also caused by direct discrimination by employers, who pay them less and reduce the promotion opportunities for them.
Projects coordinator at the Partnership for Development Center Rodica Ivascu said there are two documents aimed at narrowing the gender pay gap in Moldova - the national employment strategy and the national gender equality program. “To remove the discrimination on the labor market, the access to crèche services should be improved so that the women could easier find a job. The maternity leave should be shorter, but better paid. The principle of equal pays for equal work should be defined in the legislation of the Republic of Moldova,” she stated.
The study authors recommend that the Council for the Prevention and Elimination of Discrimination should be empowered by law to carry out investigations into cases of discrimination and salary differences.
