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Women’s pay is still lagging behind that of men – by between 12% and 23% across the countries of Western Europe – according to research from the Institute for Social and Economic Research (ISER).

But the study also reveals that the average figures typically hide ‘glass ceilings’ and ‘sticky floors’: there are larger differences at both the top and bottom of the pay scale, so that both high-and low-paid women are doing even worse compared with their male counterparts than is suggested by the average gap.

Wage Distributions

In addition, there is evidence that countries with more unequal wage distributions – like the UK – have wider average gender pay gaps, even wider gaps for low-paid workers - the so-called 'sticky floors' - but with less pronounced glass ceilings.

The research uses harmonised data from the European Community Household Panel survey, which has followed samples of households in different European Union (EU) countries over eight years.

It shows that:

The gender pay gap varies substantially from country to country. In the 11 EU countries examined, the gender pay gaps range from 12% (in Denmark) to 23% (in Finland), after taking account of the different qualifications and types of jobs done by men and women

Looking behind these average figures to measure the gender pay gap at different points in the pay distribution reveals that there are larger differences at the top of the pay scale. High-paid women are doing even worse compared with their male counterparts than is suggested by the average gap

This points to some form of ‘glass ceiling’ that makes it difficult for women to advance to the top of the pay ladder. In Denmark, for example, the gender pay gap is 21% for those who are in the top tenth of the pay scale compared with 10% for those on average earnings

In some countries, there is also evidence of ‘sticky floors’, in other words the pay gap between low-paid women and men is bigger than the average figure. An example is Austria, where the gap is 24% for the bottom tenth of earners but 20% for average earners. What explains these differing gender pay gaps? Part of the answer may be to do with discrimination, but what role do economic institutions play?

Institutions

Some institutions can affect the gender pay gap directly. Minimum wages, for example, tend to benefit women more than men because of women’s lower average pay, and they close the gender gap directly for low-paid workers. Collective bargaining institutions can also lead to compressed pay scales that reduce the gender pay gap. Other institutions have an indirect impact on women’s pay by affecting women’s ability and incentives to remain in the labour force throughout the lifecycle.

Often the impact of institutions is not clear-cut. ‘Family-friendly’ working arrangements (such as parental leave, childcare provision and flexible working patterns) can help parents stay in the labour market but may also reduce the ‘cost’ of leaving for short periods. Since these provisions are used predominantly by women, the net result may be that women fall behind men in their careers.

Overall, there is evidence that countries with more unequal wage distributions - such as Ireland, Spain and the UK - have wider average gender pay gaps, sometimes with even wider gaps for low-paid workers - so-called 'sticky floors' - but with less pronounced glass ceiling effects.

Countries with more family-friendly working arrangements (such as Denmark and the Netherlands) tend to have lower average gender pay gaps and no sticky floors; sometimes though, they have significantly wider pay gaps for high-paid women.

One interpretation is that family-friendly policies encourage labour market participation by low- and medium-paid women but do not support the sort of commitment associated with top jobs. Until women’s presence in these jobs increases or men in top jobs take up family-friendly work arrangements and share the domestic burden, these wide pay gaps are likely to remain.

The research for the full publication: Is there a Glass Ceiling over Europe? An exploration of asymmetries in the gender pay gap across the wages distribution was carried out by Dr Mark Bryan and Professors Wiji Arulampalam and Alison Booth.

Follow this link to ISER’s website for the full report.

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