On Monday, Xisca Garí, the Secretary of Social Policies and Equality for UGT in the Balearic Islands, attributed the rise in the wage gap in 2020 to the economic slowdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. She emphasized that increasing the minimum wage is an effective way to reduce inequality.
According to the union, female employees in the archipelago earned an average annual salary of 21,998.23 euros in 2020, which is 14.4% lower than their male counterparts who earned 25,699.53 euros.
During the presentation of the UGT report on the wage gap in Spain, it was revealed that the Balearic Islands had the highest increase in the wage gap between men and women in 2020, a year overshadowed by the pandemic. The report also showed that despite the almost 28% increase in the Minimum Interprofessional Wage, the wage gap in the region still widened.
According to Garí, the UGT report “does not contradict” the organization’s assertion that raising the minimum wage helps reduce the wage gap between men and women, despite the fact that certain regions have experienced an increase in the gap. On a national scale, the wage gap has decreased by over three points on average.
More discrimination
The Balearic trade unionist emphasized that the Balearic Islands experienced the most notable increase in “structural wage discrimination” because it was the region that was most impacted by the economic slowdown. This was due to a higher proportion of men working than women on average throughout 2020, a greater unemployment rate among female workers, and longer periods of time on ERTE, which primarily affected women.
The economic slowdown generated by covid is pointed to as the cause of the widening wage gap
Although the wage gap has increased in the islands, the archipelago still maintains one of the lowest levels of wage inequality compared to other regions. Nonetheless, as Garí pointed out, this is not because the Balearic Islands are doing better, but rather because both men and women are being paid less. This is largely due to the fact that the region’s economy relies heavily on the service sector, which generally offers lower wages for both genders compared to the industrial sector.
Garí stressed that wage discrimination persists because the labor market unfairly treats women solely on the basis of their gender, deeming them “cheaper labor” than their male counterparts.
Regarding the underlying factors, Garí highlighted that women are disproportionately concentrated in temporary contracts, part-time work, and leaves of absence to care for family and dependents, as well as in lower-ranking positions within companies. Conversely, men tend to be promoted more frequently and receive bonuses.