{"id":523026,"date":"2024-04-12T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-04-12T04:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leregardlibre.com\/?p=523026"},"modified":"2024-04-13T16:43:20","modified_gmt":"2024-04-13T14:43:20","slug":"mens-and-womens-salaries-the-myth-of-unfair-equality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/leregardlibre.com\/en\/economy\/mens-and-womens-salaries-the-myth-of-unfair-equality\/","title":{"rendered":"Male-female wages: the myth of inequality as unfair"},"content":{"rendered":"

The militant view that women in Switzerland are working \u00abfor free\u00bb until mid-February because of wage discrimination has once again been echoed in the press. However, studies show a derisory difference for two equal jobs.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

On February 17, we were treated to the famous refrain. \u00abIn Switzerland, women worked for free until this Saturday.\u00bb At issue was the wage gap between men and women for equivalent tasks, estimated at 14% in this country, according to the American foundation Business & Professional Women. The many Swiss media outlets that picked up on this report sent out by the Swiss Telegraphic Agency (ATS), including the public service, did not see fit to verify the facts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But they could have, and should have. Especially when you're usually so attached to the ethics of the profession, to investigation, to the difference between journalism and advertising! This obviously doesn't apply to this kind of communication operation, such as the similar one by the French collective Les Glorieuses, which claims every November that women \u00abwork for free\u00bb until the end of the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The figures tell a different story<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Various authoritative players - in contrast to these militant groups - have long been reporting a very different reality. Such is the case of the very serious British magazine The Economist<\/em>, who took an interest in the issue in 2017<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Although the average salary of a woman in Great Britain is 29% lower than that of a man, most of this gap results from differences in rank within companies, overall company pay rates and the nature of the tasks a job requires. According to data collected from 8.7 million employees worldwide by Korn Ferry, a consultancy firm, British women earn just 1% less than men in the same job and at the same level with the same employer. In most European countries, the gap is just as small.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The Federal Statistical Office (FSO) declared on March 19 that the median wage gap between men and women in Switzerland was 9.5% in 2022 (compared to 10.8% two years earlier), a good five points less than the percentage brandished by Business & Professional Women in February. However, this 9.5% indicates a difference, not yet discrimination. According to the Confederation's latest in-depth analysis, dating from 2016, 55.9% of the average pay gap between men and women can be explained by objective criteria such as age, years of service, training, professional position or qualification.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is the remainder necessarily explained by sexism? No one can fathom the hearts and minds of employers. It's hardly possible to define all a candidate's skills. No two people have exactly the same profile. And if bosses really could pay their female employees less, they'd hire more women...<\/p>\n\n\n\n