In hardly any or European country, gap in payment of women and men is as great as in Germany. As EU Commission in Brussels has shown, Federal Republic of Germany, with 22 percent difference, is ranked 26 out of 28 EU countries. The salary difference, referred to as gender pay gap, is refore only greater in Czech Republic (22.5 percent) and Estonia (26.9 percent).

Europe's leaders are Italy and Luxembourg, but difference is only 5.5 percent. Overall, EU is on an average of 16.3 percent. According to Commission, difference can be justified by fact that women are less likely to hold well-paid managerial positions and often take time out for children and care. Moreover, y would be more likely to exercise low-wage jobs than men.

The EU Commission wants to close gender pay gap by end of term 2019. By means of an action plan, all those responsible should be urged to implement guaranteed right to equal pay. For this, Commission calls on all EU Member States and European Parliament to adopt a proposal on professional time-out quickly. In addition, it wants to finance projects that promote more women in leadership positions.

According to EU Equal Opportunities Commissioner Věra Jourová, gender pay gap is a problem that should be tackled by all. "The income gap between sexes must be closed, because women's economic independence is ir best protection against violence."

7 in 10 Europeans think re is a genderpaygap in ir country. This isn't just an opinion, it is also a fact-women are still earning 16.3% less in EU. This is a battle that we all must fight toger! EU4women Pic.twitter.com/9iBWytqKMO

— Věra Jourová (@VeraJourova) November 20, 2017 Date Of Update: 21 November 2017, 12:02