Women in highly paid jobs are more likely to get paid less than male counterparts in Malta across all Eu countries, new research shows.A study by the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions found that, as opposed to the general trend in the EU, the gender pay gap increased by 4.4% in Malta between 2010 and 2019. 

In Malta, the lowest gender pay gap was found amongst those who have a low to mid pay (8%) and the highest among those with the highest pay at 16%. If one looks at the EU, the gender pay gap narrowed considerably over the last ten yeas. It was fairly stable between 2010 and 2014 (15.8% and 15.7% respectively) and then fell in recent years to 14.1% in 2019. 

The sharpest reduction was noted in Luxembourg and Cyprus, where the gap was narrowed by well over 7%, and Estonia and Romania where it narrowed by 6 percentage points. Conversely, it widened in one-third of countries, especially in Slovenia where it increased by 7 points, Croatia and Latvia at 6 points, and finally Malta and Poland with 4 points. 

The study notes how ‘not only women are less likely to be working in well paid jobs, but even when they occupy these well-paid jobs, they are disproportionately impacted by gender pay differentials.’

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