Senior salary: why this category of workers is much less well paid

In identical working time, women are paid on average 14.2% less than men. A gap that widens as careers lie down.

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The most experienced employees are also those who undergo the most glaring wage differences. This is what the last study of the INSEE published on March 4 and which relates to the disparities of remuneration between the sexes in 2023. In full -time equivalent (EQTP), in other words at the same volume of work, Women over 60 years old employed in the private sector receive an average of a quarter of a quarter (24.9%) to that of men of the same age. A ditch all the more freezing as it does not even take into account part -time times, more frequently suffered or chosen by women, and which would therefore have aggravated this differential more.

But not all women are paid 25% less. “By neutralizing these differences in work volume, the wages of wages in full -time equivalent between women and men reached 14.2%”specifies INSEE. And this phenomenon is progressive : under 25, employees are paid “only” 4.3% less than their male counterparts. But over the years, the fracture has widened. Especially when employees become mothers: “The difference in net salary in EQTP between women and men grows with the number of children”thus corroborates the study.

So much so that between a father and a mother of three or more children, the difference in remuneration reached 28.2%,, for the same number of hours worked. How to explain it? “Reconcile family and professional lives (conducted) to constraints (which reduce) the wage opportunities of mothers”justifies INSEE in a publication published in February 2019. For example, a maternity leave longer that slows professional development, or a promotion left asidefor lack of time to manage both career and family life.

“Professional segregation” also explains a lesser salary among senior women

But maternity is not the only factor behind these salary differences that are accentuated with age. INSEE also points to another phenomenon: the “”professional segregation»». The term is hard, but well reflects the reality suffered by women. The latter remain largely confined to less remunerative sectors, such as health, education or public administration. Conversely, they are still too few In the fields that offer the best wages, such as engineering, finance or tech.

A structural inequality which logically nibbles the pay sheet. The management of research, studies and statistics animation (DARES) had already underlined it already underlined in a study published 10 years ago :: “In 2012, the average net hourly wage of so -called“ female ”trades was almost 19% lower than that of“ male ”trades”. Thirteen years later, the trend does not seem to have reversed, since this year again, INSEE shares the same observation: “Even for executives,” female “professions have a lower average net salary than” male “professions.”

Salary differences of 22.1% in 1995

Not everything is lost. “”More and more graduateswomen see their share among executives increase, so there are more of them occupying better paid jobs ”underlines INSEE. An evolution which, slowly but surely, contributes to reducing salary differences. Proof that the lines are changing: since 1995, the clear full -time equivalent remuneration gap has been reduced by a third party.