The main aim of our investigation is analysis of differences between man and woman employment and wages in the Baltic Sea Region states (BSR) in the ICT and the touristic sectors, distinguished due to the NACE classification of economic activities. The touristic sector is defined as: accommodation and food service while the ICT sector - information and communication.
Analysis is provided for employees in age 20-64 from selected BSR states and the European Union, considered as an aggregate of 28 countries. We consider eight BSR states: Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Finland and Sweden in the years 2007-2014. Investigated sectors are characterized by different level of feminization - the EU average feminization rate (calculated for the considered period) is 31.6% in the ICT sector and 54.8% in the tourism sector. However one must realize that total employment in both sectors is rather small since in the whole EU it constitutes for both sectors 2.9% and 4.2% respectively of all employed, therefore they are not representative for the whole economies.
Investigation is conducted on the basis of the Eurostat data, namely Labour Force Survey and Eurostat’s Structure of Earnings Survey data. In our research we apply descriptive statistics together with dynamic measures such as simple index numbers and geometric mean. In the analysis we consider the following phenomena:
- structure of employment and its dynamics,
- feminization of economic branches and its dynamics,
- structure of wages,
- gender pay gap.
The main findings of our research may be summarized as following.
1. In the EU there were in average 32% of women employed in the ICT sectors (in the years 2008-2014) while in BSR states this ratio was from 29% in Sweden to 44% in Lithuania. However feminization of this sector has been decreasing. The changes in the employment structure is mostly visible in the Baltic States what is probably caused by
- small labor markets in these countries thus even small change in the count of employees causes essential change in the structure of employment,
- economic crises which influences the ICT sector.
2. Feminization of the touristic sector is bigger than the ICT. The average feminization rate for EU member states is 55% while in the BSR states it constitutes from 52% in Denmark and Sweden to 80% in Lithuania. The employment has been increasing in this sector however the dynamic for male employees is bigger than for female ones. The highest feminization rate is observed in Baltic states.
3. Analyzing countries from the Baltic Sea Region one must realize that they are characterized by different level of economic development and standard of life. It is visible by the huge differences in earning obtained in Germany and Scandinavian countries in comparison to Baltic States and Poland. In the new EU states belonging to the BSR average hourly wages constitute only from 21% to 35% of average obtained in the 28 European Union countries, and from 21% to 29% of average obtained in other four BSR states, depending on the sector and gender.
4. Gender pay gap in the ICT branch is higher than in the touristic sector with exception of Poland in 2010. GPG in the ICT sector is higher than average evaluated for national economies in Denmark, Poland, Germany, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia (with exception of the year 2011), while in Finland and Sweden the situation is opposite. In the tourism sector GPG is smaller than the average evaluated for the whole economy in Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Finland and Sweden. In Poland (with exception of the year 2007) and Latvia (for available data) gender wage gap is higher than the one evaluated for the whole economy. While in Lithuania the situation was changing in the analyzed years.
5. Managers earn more than “average employees” but there is great diversity among countries, sectors and both genders. For instance male managers in touristic sector in Latvia earn only 4% more while in Germany three times more (in 2010). Also gender wage gap is strongly differentiated from negative value in Latvian touristic sector (-1%) to 36% in the touristic sector in Poland.
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