Women earn 30% less than men in Catalonia

Women earn 29.9% less than men in Catalonia, according to the treasury of Spain, in a report that highlights how the gender pay gap continues to be a problem in 2018. A woman’s average salary in the country was set at 18,383 euros per year, 5,498 euros less than men. In Spain as a whole, women make an average annual salary of 16,281 euros.

According to the government body behind the report, it would take seven decades to close this wage gap. The treasury tax officers have explained that this inequality exists because “there are more women than men who do not earn more than 1,000 euros per month.”

Within Spain as a whole Catalonia was of the few areas where gender pay inequality actually decreased.

The higher the income bracket, the wider the gender wage gap, the report also found. There are half as many women as men who earn between 50,000 and 80,000 euros per year.

Age discrimination also pays its role. Pay inequality begins to increase significantly for women aged between 26 and 45, coinciding with the usual period in which women may have to take maternity leave in order to look after children.

The report took into account the salary trends for recent years. Findings show that between 2005 and 2015 the wage gap between men and women  was reduced by 15% in Spain as a whole, but it has been widening again ever since.

Inequality in the workplace is not just isolated to Catalonia. Indeed, even in the 21^st century, it continues to be a global issue. A European Commission report found that women were paid less throughout Europe as a whole. In 2015, a woman’s average hourly wage was 16.3% less than a man’s in Europe.