The Gender Pay Gap in leadership positions in the private sector: Women earned roughly 22 percent less than men in 2013

Although it has decreased slightly, the pay gap between women and men remains at a high level: In 2013, the gross salary of women employed full-time in leadership positions in the private sector was roughly 22 percent, or one-fifth, of the gross salary of men in such positions. In 2012, the so-called Gender Pay Gap stood at 24 percent; in 2002, it stood at 26 percent. These calculations are based on data from the long-term study conducted by the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) at the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin) on the occasion of Equal Pay Day on March 20. "Discrimination against women in the labor market, along with the pressures they face in terms of reconciling family obligations with their professional lives, are important reasons why the gender pay gap in our society urgently needs to be corrected,” said Elke Holst, DIW’s Research Director for Gender Studies. The pay gap between women and men employed in full-time positions stood, in terms of gross hourly earnings, at 17 percent in 2013, according to data from the Federal Statistical Office in 2013.