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Equal rights researchers analyse income levels

Women on the German labour market earn about 20 per cent less than comparably well qualified men. The reasons for this are complex: for example, women and men often work in different fields or possess less job experience. In a new study, scientists at Bielefeld University (Professor Dr. Stefan Liebig, Carsten Sauer), the University of Konstanz (Professor Dr. Thomas Hinz, Katrin Auspurg), and the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW) in Berlin (Professor Dr. Jürgen Schupp) have now shown that even though the general public reject differential pay for men and women in principle, things look different when people are asked about their concrete ideas on what is a fair income in the single case. Then we find that a woman is considered to deserve markedly lower pay than an equally well qualified man. What is decisive here is that it is not just men who take this view. Women themselves have lower demands regarding the amount they are paid, and they also assign a markedly lower level of pay to other women compared to equally well-qualified men.

These findings are based on a total of three representative surveys carried out throughout Germany in 2008 and 2009. In a survey by the DIW in Berlin (Socio-economic panel), about 10,000 working people were first asked whether they considered their own work income to be fair or unfair. If they rated their own pay as unfair, they were asked to name what concrete amount they considered to be fair pay. Results showed that the gross income that women considered fair for themselves was not only lower than the actual pay for men, but also lower than the gross income that men considered to be fair for themselves. Hence, women award themselves a lower gross income than men.

The other two surveys by scientists at Bielefeld and Konstanz – one in cooperation with the DIW in Berlin; the other, an independent survey funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) – asked a total of 1066 randomly selected persons in 2008 and about 1600 randomly selected persons in 2009 what they considered to be fair pay for different groups of people working in Germany. First of all, they had to assess the importance in general of various criteria for determining pay and income. Alongside the role of productivity, profession, level of training, and the economic situation of the company people work for, they were also asked about the importance of gender. Results showed that the majority believed that gender should play no or only a minor role in determining pay levels. Then respondents were given between 10 and 30 descriptions of employees who differed on several features such as profession, family status, age, gender, and income. For each one of these descriptions, respondents had to rate whether their pay was fair or unfair. These new results showed that gender played a decisive role in the evaluation of these single concrete cases. Woman were assigned a markedly lower fair gross income than men, even when they had been attributed with otherwise equal levels of training or productivity and the same profession. For example, a 55-year-old male doctor with above-average productivity who is the sole wage earner and has four children to care for was assigned a gross income of 7750 Euro a month; a female doctor with the same characteristics and life circumstances, in contrast, only 7300 Euro.

Hence, whereas unequal treatment of men and women is rejected when addressed directly, it can, nonetheless, be found in the assessment of concrete, everyday cases. Therefore, direct questions tap only the primary intent, whereas assessments of case reports seem to reveal underlying set attitudes. On the whole, pay differentials between women and men are considered to be fair in broad sectors of the population.

Professor Dr. Stefan Liebig sums up: "In a 'just' world in which each one of us were to receive the pay we consider to be fair, there would still be pay differentials between men and women. They would merely be slightly lower than they are today."

It may well be that one of the causes of the pay differentials between men and women is set ideas in the general public – ideas that the man's main task is to feed and house his family and the woman's place is primarily in the home. However, ideas about fair income are formed particularly through comparisons with others. The basic tendency is to compare oneself with persons who are similar to oneself. As a result, women start by comparing themselves with other women. When they frequently work in what are called "women's professions", and the level of pay in these professions is lower than that in "men's professions", they will always compare themselves with others who earn less than men.

Nonetheless, women living in households in which both partners work expect more pay than woman who live alone or who are sole wage earners. One reason for this difference is the opportunities for making comparisons that open up for women in dual income households. They can compare themselves directly with their – generally better paid – men. This is particularly the case when both work in the same profession or possess a similar level of education. Under such conditions, women can perceive pay differentials between the genders directly. As a result, women in dual income households have a markedly stronger sense of injustice in relation to their income than women who live alone.

These findings also explain why differences in income between men and women continue to exist despite the legal prohibition of discrimination. Evidently, it is not just men who consider that women should earn less for their work, but women themselves who have markedly lower pay expectations and, as a result, make less demanding claims when, for example, negotiating pay.
 
The results were published on Wednesday 7 July in Wochenbericht des DIW, 77(27–28), 11–16 (www.diw.de).

Contact:
Professor Dr. Stefan Liebig, Universität Bielefeld     
Fakultät für Soziologie
Telefon: 0521 / 106-4616
Email: stefan.liebig@uni-bielefeld.de

Professor Dr. Thomas Hinz, Universität Konstanz
Fachbereich Geschichte und Soziologie
Telefon: 07531 / 88-3300
Email: thomas.hinz@uni-konstanz.de

Prof. Dr. Jürgen Schupp, DIW Berlin
Sozio-oekonomisches Panel (SOEP)
Telefon: 030 / 89789-238
Email: jschupp@diw.de