Under-exploited women's potential hampers economy

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Prague, Nov 3 (CTK) - Insufficiently exploited potential of women represents one of the barriers to the Czech economic growth, said participants of today's round table of the Confederation of Industry, including the European Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality, Vera Jourova.


Women in the Czech Republic and in the EU are remunerated worse than men and their representation in companies' leadership is lower. However, the Confederation is against general quotas for women in different positions. "It is impossible to find women for some posts," the Confederation vice-president Jan Rafaj said. 

"The Confederation of Industry will not support the wage inequality between men and women as there is no reason for it," Rafaj stated.

The EU's gender pay gap is 16.1 percent, while in the Czech Republic it is 22.1 percent, which is the second biggest gap in the EU. The reasons for it include women taking care of family, occupational segregation in jobs with low wages, such as teachers and nurses, direct discrimination and low self-esteem of women, Jourova said.

Today is the European equal pay day representing the number of additional days women have to work to get the same wage as men. In the Czech Republic, this day would be October 11.

"Women in the Czech Republic earn the average of Kc6,500 less than men," Lenka Stastna, the president of Business & Professional Women non-profit organisation, said. Family budgets lose roughly Kc77,000 a year on average, according to the Czech Statistical Office (CSU) and Eurostat. The biggest companies in the Czech Republic report a 10.4 percent share of women in statutory boards. The largest Czech join stock companies register a 14.4 percent portion of women in their supervisory boards.

Ceska sporitelna bank represents a good example. Together with the whole Erste group, it wants up to 35 percent of top management to be women by 2019. The insurance, water management and recreation sectors register the biggest share of women in leadership, according to the Business for Society platform. On the other hand, the smallest share is in statutory boards in the mining and construction sectors.

Source: ČTK
Foto: Confederation of Industry of the Czech Republic

Kateřina Pavlíková
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section Aktuálně
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