Many women in the European Union still earn less than men who do the same job. This is confirmed by the latest Eurostat data, according to which over the past 10 years, although it has been melting, the gender pay gap is 11%, in favor of men. In Bulgaria, the percentage is similar - 12, but unlike the other member states, where it has been constantly falling for 15 years, in our country it varies, reports Nova TV.
After a jump 10 years ago, the gender pay gap in Bulgaria is now going down again. However, there is one country where women earn more than men - Luxembourg.
As for employment, men once again enjoy a higher one. The employment rate of European men is on average 81%, and that of European women - 81%. 71%. This difference of 10 percentage points, 3 countries almost double. The most significant is the difference between the two sexes in Italy, followed by our two neighbors Greece and Romania. Finland is the only country with a difference of less than 1 percentage point, which practically means that almost exactly as many women work there as men. In Bulgaria, the difference is 7 percentage points.
What is the share of women occupying some key positions in society, considered in the past to be an entirely male territory?
In both the current Bulgarian parliament and the last regular government, it is smaller than the average in the other member states. While in both cases a third of those holding a seat in power are women, in our case, as far as the National Assembly is concerned, they represent a quarter, and in the parliament they are only slightly more. The most women in power are in the Scandinavian and Baltic countries – there, almost half of all politicians are women.
The situation is similar when we talk about women in leadership positions. Here too, the top spots are held by the same countries. Our country is already well ahead in this ranking – fifth, with a 40.5% share of women managers, which is 5% more than the average in Europe. The largest part of women holding such positions are up to 39 years of age.
The share of women scientists and engineers is increasing by several percentage points compared to what we observed among women managers, and even in Latvia, although by only 1%, there are more women involved in science than men. In Denmark, there are almost as many women scientists as there are men, and Bulgaria is again fifth, with over 47% share of women in this field. According to Eurostat, we share our position with Ireland.
But if we divide our country, Northern Bulgaria turns out to be one of the regions with the highest concentration of women engaged in science in all of Europe, even more than men. To give an example, we go to Ruse, where Natalia Yordanova meets us with the vice-rector of the University of Ruse - Associate Professor Galina Ivanova. She chose a predominantly male profession, awarded by the president for her contribution to the development of computer and information technologies.
„Computer engineering is not only a male profession. Some time ago, when I was studying, we were almost equally men and women. However, in recent years, there has really been a trend of fewer and fewer girls choosing engineering specialties,” explains Ivanova.
Galina Ivanova's entire professional path to vice-rector for international cooperation passes through the university. The young vice-rector successfully balances scientific work, administrative commitments and dedication as a wife and mother.
“We have two children with our husband. Thanks to the support of our families, we manage to combine both our professional realization and family obligations”, she also said.
With the same concern, she is preparing to welcome another large group of foreign students.
“This month we welcome over 70 students from over 14 countries. It is interesting to work in a dynamic, multicultural environment”, concluded the vice-rector of the University of Ruse.