Across the economy (private or public), the overall gender pay gap continued to gradually decrease between 2019 and 2022, from 19.0% to 16.2%. This is what emerges from the analysis of salary data published this Tuesday by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO).
In other words, in 2022, in all sectors observed, women earned 16.2% less than men. According to the OFS: “Structural differences, such as the level of training, the number of years of service or even the hierarchical function exercised within the company partly explain these salary disparities”. The office also notes that “the salary differential between women and men is all the more marked as the managerial position is high”.
In the private sector, the OFS notes that pay gaps to the disadvantage of women vary greatly depending on the economic sector. In the hotel and catering industry, for example, it is only -7.6%, while it reaches -17.4% in the retail trade, -19.3% in the machinery industry and -29 .4% in financial and insurance activities.
In the specifically public sector (Confederation, cantons and municipalities), the salary gap between women and men has fallen further. From 18.1% in 2028, it increased to 13.8% on average in 2022.
As said above, structural differences “partly” explain this wage gap. The OFS is interested in the “unexplained” part of this gap which corresponded in 2022 to almost half, i.e. 48% in the private sector and 49.6% for the public sector.
This represents the real shortfall for women because they are women. In 2022, the unexplained part of the wage gap amounted to an average of 657 gross francs per month for the entire economy.
In the private sector, the unexplained portion rose to 653 francs per month. Depending on the economic sector, it varies considerably, like the percentages mentioned above. In the hotel and catering industry, the unexplained share is 142 francs per month. In retail trade 663 francs, in the machinery industry 928 francs and in financial and insurance activities 1274 francs.
In the public sector, the unexplained salary difference amounted to an average of 623 francs per month.
