“Equal Pay Day” October 22: Demands for Fair Wages – Coronavirus Vienna

The so-called “Equal Pay Day”, which illustrates the pay inequality between women and men, falls on Thursday of this year. On Wednesday, numerous politicians pointed out that there was still a lot to do in this area. The Minister for Women, Susanne Raab (ÖVP), stated over broadcast that women in Austria still earn 19.3 per cent less than men and that more measures are needed to “sustainably improve” the income situation .

The “Equal Pay Day” symbolizes the day from which women have to work full time, compared to men, more or less unpaid. Women’s Minister Raab emphasized Wednesday that closing income gaps, in addition to expanding needs-based child care, among other things, requires “appropriate qualification measures, a rethinking of career options, and more women in management positions “. “That doesn’t happen overnight. But with specific projects, I want to encourage girls to try something new and discover their interest in so-called MINT subjects: math, computer science, science and technology.”

For the second president of the National Council, Doris Bures (SPÖ), “Equal Pay Day” makes it clear that the income gap between women and men is developing “only with difficulty, tenaciously and slowly”. Compared to men, women would work without pay for more than two months. Bures also noted that the corona pandemic threatens to slow or even delay previous positive advances in gender equality, this should be avoided.

Green Women’s spokesperson Meri Disoski noted that Austria ranks in terms of income equality in a European comparison “last behind countries like Bulgaria, Romania, Poland and Slovakia.” “Women are better educated in Austria than men. Their performance should be reflected in a fair salary,” emphasized green economy spokesperson Elisabeth Götze. A “comprehensive package of measures” asked NEOS women’s spokesperson Henrike Brandstötter on Wednesday. Among other things, more flexible working hours are needed, more parental involvement through individual rights to parental leave and childcare allowances, and finally automatic division of pensions. However, the focus should be more childcare places and a legal right to them from the first birthday.

The GPA-djp union pointed out that the gender pay gap is not only “completely unfair” and must be eliminated. The “unfair wages of women” are also a “catastrophe” in economic terms. GPA calculations would show that the state loses five billion euros in taxes a year due to insufficient pay for women doing equivalent work.

AK President Renate Anderl emphasized that women are the main victims of unemployment caused by the Crown crisis. On the other hand, employed women would suffer the high workload at work, as well as the double family and work load. “Now is the time to shorten working hours! AK, ÖGB and city women’s representatives are calling for shorter working hours,” Anderl said in a broadcast.

Meanwhile, the Women’s Committee of the Austrian Cities Association is drawing attention to the differences in salaries in its own video. “When it comes to salary, it becomes unfair. When it comes to money, gender counts,” reads the message of the clip, which will be shown on public transport in Austria’s largest cities from Thursday. And the president of the Association for the Elderly Ingrid Korosec (ÖVP) referred to the consequences for women in old age: “Wage inequality generates poverty in old age!” Furthermore, Austria is “near the end” of the gender pay gap in the EU, Korosec said. According to the European Commission’s calculation method, the difference would be almost 20 percent. “That is well above the EU average of 16 percent.”

In Austria two days of fair wages are celebrated, which is due to the calculation method. In addition to the fall date, there is also one in spring, which was celebrated on February 25, 2020 (and represents the date until which women have to work without pay compared to men).