Women in the lead: Austria remains with the gender Pay Gap!

Women in the lead: Austria remains with the gender Pay Gap!

Vienna, Österreich - In Austria there are alarming setbacks in gender equality and in the income area. According to a current survey by the consulting company Deloitte, which refers to World Women's Day, women are strongly underrepresented on management levels and there are no signs of soon changes. The clear grievances are also evident in the gender pay gap: women earn an average of 18.4 percent less than men, which is well above the EU average of 12.7 percent. Although the gender pay gap is slowly shrinking, the pace is insufficient, says Elisa Aichinger, partner at Deloitte. She criticizes the stagnating values ​​and emphasizes that almost half of the companies surveyed do not plan to increase the proportion of women in management positions.

survey results and necessary measures

The study, which interviewed 501 company representatives between December 2024 and January 2025, illustrates the lack of qualified women as one of the hurdles for the same representation. "The management levels in the Austrian economy have always been dominated by male," says Aichinger. In order to promote gender justice, extensive measures such as nationwide childcare and the promotion of girls in MINT subjects are required. Aichinger also emphasizes the need for mandatory quotas and transparent processes in career and income development. In addition, the EU wage transparency guideline, which must be implemented nationally by 2026, is regarded as another step in the direction of income justice. According to Deloitte, companies can do a lot through transparent cultures.

These critical points for gender equality and the differences in income in Austria show how urgently actions and reforms are necessary to make real progress. The challenges are considerable and time is pushing to create a fairer world of work for all genders. Further details on these alarming findings can be read in the comprehensive analysis of Deloitte , while the survey results also from vienna.at