WIESBADEN (dpa-AFX) – Women in Germany have also earned significantly less than men this year. At 22.81 euros per hour, they received a wage that was 4.24 euros lower, as reported by the Federal Statistical Office. The wage gap remained unchanged at 16 percent. In 2024, this value, also known as the gender pay gap, had shrunk by 2 percentage points compared to the previous year. In 2006 the difference in earnings was 23 percent.
The statistics office explains almost two thirds of the wage gap (60 percent) with higher part-time rates among women and lower salaries in jobs typical of women. There remains a gap (adjusted gender pay gap) of 1.71 euros or around 6 percent of the gross hourly wage without a clear explanation. This value remained unchanged in 2025.
Adjusted gap of 6 percent
Even with comparable jobs, qualifications and employment histories, women earn 6 percent less than men, who earn an hourly wage of 27.05 euros. The authority suspects that interruptions in employment, for example during pregnancy, to raise children or to care for relatives, play a role here, but these are not recorded in more detail. It is assumed that this can explain further parts of the wage difference. The 6 percent represents an upper limit for possible wage discrimination by employers.
The unadjusted gender pay gap in eastern Germany is 5 percent, significantly lower than in the west, where it is 17 percent. According to European statistical guidelines, the areas of “Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries” and “Public Administration, Defense, Social Security” are excluded from all calculations.
In the public sector in particular, there is a significantly smaller gender pay gap of 4 percent. If this area were included, the unadjusted wage gap nationwide would fall to 15 percent./ceb/DP/stk