AMS-Monitor: Women Benefit from Qualification - But the Wage Gap Remains

Labor market policy offers from AMS improve women's employment opportunities. This is the conclusion reached by the AMS Gender Equality Goals Monitor. According to this, participants were employed longer and unemployed for shorter periods on average after completing the measures. Nevertheless, the income difference between men and women in Austria remains significant.

"Equal opportunities in the labor market are not a luxury, but a foundation for social justice and economic strength," emphasized Labor Minister Korinna Schumann at a press conference on Tuesday. "The results clearly show: The labor policy measures are effective - and they are particularly effective for women."

AMS Monitor Analyzes Long-Term Effects

To evaluate the measures, nine AMS offers were examined, including training and further education programs. The monitor recorded their impact in the areas of employment, unemployment, distance from the labor market, income, and industry change. The analysis was based on data from 52,791 women who completed one of the AMS offers in 2019. Their situation one year before starting participation was compared with that in the third year after completion to ensure a sufficiently long observation period.

Skilled Worker Programs Bring 593 Euros More Per Month

According to the monitor, higher qualified participants in particular were able to improve both their income and their professional position. Women with a skilled worker scholarship earned an average of 593 euros more per month after completing their training. In addition, AMS funding facilitated the entry of around 800 women into better-paid and traditionally male-dominated industries. Participants whose employers received an integration subsidy were employed an average of 86 days longer than comparison persons.

However, no positive effects were shown by the supra-company apprenticeship training: Women who completed their apprenticeship in a training institution instead of a company were more frequently unemployed than members of the control group. This is partly because unemployment in the comparison group has decreased, explained AMS Gender Equality Officer Ina Freudenschuß.

Gender Pay Gap in Austria Remains High

Although more men than women are unemployed, the income gap between the genders ("Gender Pay Gap") remains wide open. In 2023, the Gender Pay Gap was 18.3 percent according to Eurostat - a decrease from 22.3 percent in 2013. "We have made progress, but really in tiny steps, one must say," said AMS Director Petra Draxl. Further measures are necessary for a sustainable reduction of the wage gap. "The implementation of the pay transparency directive will be one of the mechanisms to hopefully further close the Gender Pay Gap," added Schumann.

(APA/Red)

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