Experts explained why women earn less than men in Azerbaijan

Despite a noticeable increase in salaries, women's wages on average remain lower than men's. However, women's wages have their peculiarities: legislation protects female workers from well-paid but dangerous professions.

As the newspaper "Caspian" writes, today stereotypes are gradually becoming a thing of the past, with women working and earning equally with men in various fields of activity. Nevertheless, there remain professions that are traditionally considered male: heavy physical labor, IT, engineering specialties. Women rarely seek work in the construction sector, fire protection, and they are not often accepted into law enforcement. In the oil sector, physical labor is also usually performed by men.

By Gender

Regarding statistics, the highest salaries are found among workers in banking, energy, and insurance sectors. The highest earners are in the oil and gas and mining industries. Additionally, air and water transport workers, as well as IT specialists, can boast high incomes. Salaries of deputies and heads of state-funded organizations are also above average. These are the highest-paid and predominantly male employment sectors. According to State Statistics Committee reports, kindergarten assistant teachers, postal workers, and cleaners - predominantly women - earn the least.

Notably, the largest difference between female and male earnings can be observed in professional, scientific, and technical activities. In these areas, women's salaries are half that of their male counterparts. The smallest difference is in education, where women typically predominate. But this is the result of work complexity and voluntary choice, while our women's rights are carefully protected by the state.

For example, to eliminate gender differences, a Cabinet of Ministers decree from two years ago halved the number of professions and workplaces prohibited for women. Since everything is understood in comparison, let's remember that according to International Labor Organization experts, gender-based income differences exist in all countries. For instance, in Europe, women earn almost 15% less than men for the same work. To address individual cases of bias, the ILO developed amendments to the local Labor Code and resulting legal acts. Moreover, special reforms are being prepared in the republic to prevent this problem.

Not a Lady's Business

Domestic experts insist: men's higher wages are explained by the complexity of their work. Simply put, our women face positive discrimination, according to sociologist Uzeir Shafiev. Lower wages for women are not a result of gender discrimination but rather a consequence of caring attitude toward mothers and homemakers. Men in our country earn more because their working conditions are generally harder, he assures.

Economist Eldaniz Amirov expressed a similar opinion about the reasons for differences in male and female salaries. He also believes that the origins of disproportion are not in gender bias - they are due to economic features where the oil and gas industry prevails. And finding a country where women's wages would exceed men's would be unlikely, says the expert:

- Many high-paying employment sectors have a male face, - he explains. - Men are the vast majority in construction, mining and processing sectors, this gap is slightly smaller but still noticeable in finance and insurance