Women Disadvantaged in Bonus Payments as Well
The pay gap for women in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland exists not just in base salary but in bonus payments as well. This has been shown by analyses conducted by the ifo Institute and the management consultancy Mercer for over 270 companies in the three countries. In Germany, women receive an average of 6.1% less in bonus payments. In Austria, the gap between men and women is 7.2%. Companies in Switzerland pay women an average of 5.2% less in bonuses.
“The gender pay gap in bonus payments is significantly bigger than in basic salary. These major differences make the gap in total salary even larger,” says ifo researcher Michaela Paffenholz. In Germany, the pay gap between men and women in basic salary is 2.7%. Bonus payments increase this gap to 3.0% in total salary. In Austria, the gender gap in basic salary is 2.3%. Bonus payments push that up to 2.9%. In Switzerland, the gap is 1.2% for basic salary; bonus payments increase this to 1.6% for total salary.
The findings are based on data from the management consultancy Mercer. The evaluation compared the salary structures of women and men for more than 270 companies in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. The stated figures are adjusted wage gaps that take into account observable factors such as length of employment. Larger companies are overrepresented in the market data collected by Mercer, so the studies are not representative of all companies in the DACH region.
