Women paid less than men

On the premises of the CCE of the County Chamber of Split, a round table was held entitled “November 3 – the day from which women work for free until the end of the year – why?”. The theme of the roundtable was the difference in personal earnings between men and women, organized by the Croatian Chamber of Economy – County Chamber of Split and the KRUG Businesswomen Association. The event was aimed at pointing out that women continue to be paid less for the same work than their male colleagues, and that there is room for improvement on this issue, as well as a will to change and improve should be found throughout the entire society.

The round table was attended by Katija Klepo, a member of the Management Board of AD Plastik Group, who emphasized that in AD Plastik there is no difference between a man and a woman in terms of promotion, nor a difference in salaries for the same job. “Men and women in the AD Plastik Group have a very similar progression path, but certain positions carry increased responsibilities and challenges such as travel, additional engagement and the like. It is very important for women to harmonize their private and business life so sometimes they do not want to take over additional responsibility. As for other developed European countries, the main difference is that in these countries women have a greater choice than in Croatia. For example, they have the option of choosing part-time after returning from maternity leave and a significantly better options regarding childcare arrangements. It is encouraging that women in the business world today have a much better status than just ten years ago. Work should continue to be done in this direction. I am sure the differences that exist will diminish in the future and I believe they will also disappear over time,” said Katija Klepo.

From November 3 until the end of the year women across the European Union symbolically speaking work for free, comparing their earnings with those of their  male colleagues at the same job. This day was called Equal Pay Day and it should serve as a reminder that women continue to be paid less for the same work than their male colleagues. The survey found that as many as 16.1 percent of women in the European Union have lower incomes than their male colleagues for the same job. The private sector in the EU is strongest in these differences, and the percentage varies across countries. In Romania, the difference is five percent, in rich and developed Germany as much as 21 percent, while in France it is 15 percent. Estonia has the biggest difference, as high as 25 percent, while in Croatia the difference is somewhere around the EU average.