07.03.2022

Wage Differences between Men and Women in Austria 2020

WIFO Research Brief by René Böheim, Marian Fink and Christine Zulehner

Estimates of the gender wage gap show that it was lower in 2020 than in previous years, at 12.1 percent of women's mean wage. The adjusted gender wage gap remained stable compared to the previous year at 6.1 percent of women's mean wage.

In the private sector, the adjusted wage gap increased from 5.8 to 6.6 percent of women's mean wage. An important factor for the observed wage gap is women's lower work experience. Another factor are unobservable characteristics in the data, such as differences in wage bargaining. A detailed analysis shows a significant impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the labour supply of women and men, but no additional negative impact on parents.