By IRNA,
Berlin : Women in Germany are significantly being paid less than men, European Union Social Commissioner Vladimir Spidla told the Hamburg-based Die Welt newspaper on Monday.
The average hourly salary of German women is 22 percent below the level of men, the top EU official said.
Only Estonia, Cyprus and Slovakia have a greater wage gap. On the average, women earn 15 percent less than men in EU countries, Spidla added.
He urged employers to follow the principle of ‘same work same pay’.
According to the EU Commission, the employment of women has risen steadily over the past years.
The number of women who entered the job market increased to 7.5 million for the time period between 2000 and 2006, up from 4.5 million men.
Every third woman works part-time compared to only eight percent men, according to Spidla.