DEVELOPMENT
The pdf-version - Eesti Koostöö Kogu
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5- much more than I deserve. Some dissatisfaction<br />
with pay is not necessarily problematic; therefore, in<br />
the following analysis, we will only include those who<br />
assessed their pay to be much less than I deserve.<br />
From the following diagram, it turns out that the<br />
percentage of people who are not saved from poverty<br />
by working is between 3% and 12%, depending on the<br />
state. This indicates quite a large difference, despite the<br />
fact that the state’s median income was used for the<br />
calculation, so that the proportion of working poor is<br />
basically similar. In the course of the economic crisis,<br />
the percentage of working poor has increased in about<br />
half the states, while in some it has remained comparatively<br />
the same. In Switzerland, Austria and Finland,<br />
the number of working poor declined during the crisis.<br />
The situation in Estonia is illustrated by the fact that,<br />
although the proportion of working poor is quite large,<br />
it has remained practically unchanged during the economic<br />
crisis.<br />
Although the states differ, based on the number<br />
of actual working poor, this variance is relatively small<br />
compared to the differences in the perception of justice<br />
(see Figure 3.2.5).<br />
It is clear from the diagram that Estonia is among<br />
those at the bottom of the rankings, that is, about a<br />
quarter of the workers in Estonia feel that they definitely<br />
deserve higher pay. A great proportion of people<br />
feel this way in Hungary, Poland, Ukraine and Russia,<br />
as well as in Chile and Argentina. In these states, the<br />
people feel that they are being treated unjustly, since<br />
they do not get paid what they think they deserve. The<br />
workers in Norway, Denmark, Switzerland, Belgium and<br />
Austria take the position that they receive less pay than<br />
they deserve, considerably less frequently. These states<br />
are characterised by a high standard of labour relations,<br />
which means that managers and owners have a respectful<br />
attitude toward the needs and expectations of their<br />
workers. On the other hand, greater dissatisfaction is<br />
also based on the state’s generally poorer quality of life<br />
and wage level, which characterises Eastern Europe and<br />
South America. Information about the wage levels and<br />
working conditions in other states is readily available,<br />
and the possibilities for the workers themselves to move,<br />
are also uncomplicated. Nevertheless, the studies assert<br />
(Magun, 2013) that the transparency of the pay system,<br />
and the merited recognition of the worker’s contribution,<br />
are of decisive importance in both the growth of the<br />
gross domestic product (GDP) and the accompanying<br />
increase in the wage level.<br />
3.2.4<br />
Gender inequality and the pay gap<br />
The working poor can often have a “woman’s face”,<br />
because, in many countries in the world, women are<br />
paid less for their work. The gender pay gap is the extent<br />
to which women’s pay lags behind the average pay paid<br />
to men. Estonia’s gender pay gap is one of the largest in<br />
Europe, and due to this great gender inequality, Estonia’s<br />
position in international rankings has suffered. However,<br />
a great lag in women’s pay is not necessarily characteristic<br />
of the post-Communist states. For instance, Slovenia<br />
Figure 3.2.6<br />
Gender pay gap in the European countries, 2010.<br />
Percentage<br />
Slovenia<br />
Poland<br />
Italy<br />
Malta<br />
Luxembourg<br />
Romania<br />
Belgium<br />
Portugal<br />
Bulgaria<br />
Ireland<br />
Lithuania<br />
Sweden<br />
Latvia<br />
France<br />
Norway<br />
Denmark<br />
EU 27<br />
Spain<br />
Cyprus<br />
Hungary<br />
Netherlands<br />
Switzerland<br />
Great Britain<br />
Slovakia<br />
Finland<br />
Greece<br />
Germany<br />
Austria<br />
Czech Republic<br />
Estonia<br />
Percentage<br />
Source: Eurostat<br />
0 5 10 15 20 25<br />
0 5 10 15 20 25<br />
and Poland have the smallest gender pay gaps in Europe,<br />
while the gaps in the Czech Republic and Slovakia are<br />
large, just like in Estonia. Although, a smaller gender pay<br />
gap is usually accompanied by a smaller Gini index, this<br />
is not always true.<br />
If, on average, the gender pay gap in Europe is<br />
between 8% and 18%, in the OECD states, the pay gap<br />
is wider – from 10% to 30%. This shows that outside of<br />
Europe, in the Asian countries and South America, the<br />
gender-based income differences are larger. The largest<br />
objectively unexplained pay gaps are in Chile, South<br />
Africa and Argentina (Tijdens, Van Klaveren, 2012). Costa<br />
Rica, on the other hand, stands out for its less than 10%<br />
gender pay gap.<br />
How to provide an explanation for women’s low<br />
wages? The first possibility is to juxtapose the pay gap<br />
Estonian Human Development Report 2012/2013<br />
119