Women in Germany still earn significantly less than men. On World Women’s Day on 8 March and Equal Pay Day on 10 March, these inequalities are particularly in focus every year. The wage gap also puts women at a disadvantage when it comes to borrowing, as a study shows. Your loans are on average eight percent more expensive and your loan request is rejected more often. This is the result of a study by the consumer and comparison portal Verivox.
For the analysis, all loans that were applied for and concluded last year via the comparison portal were compared. On average, women had to pay 3.39 percent interest for their loan. Male borrowers, on the other hand, paid only 3.15 percent. Thus, loans for women were 8 percent more expensive. The so-called median interest rate was evaluated.
Women and loans: lower salary, worse conditions
The lower interest rates for women are due to their lower income. On average, women who applied for a loan through Verivox in 2020 would have earned € 1,714 net per month – and thus € 564 less than men. According to the study authors, there is “a clear wage gap of 25 percent” between the sexes.
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Compared to the previous year, the wage gap has proven to be stable. Also in 2019, Verivox customers earned on average a quarter less than men. “Income is an important feature for banks when assessing creditworthiness,” says Oliver Maier, Managing Director at Verivox. “If you earn less, you can take out less credit, pay higher interest rates and get a loan commitment more difficult,” Maier continues.
Wage gap of 19 percent between men and women
A study by the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW) has also shown that the wage gap between women and men in Germany continues to be relatively large. In 2019, employed women earned an average of 19 percent less than men. Particularly sobering: the rate has hardly changed in the past 15 years.
“Germany needs to catch up on gender equality policy,” said study author Katharina Wrohlich. As possible countermeasures she mentioned more partner months in parental allowance, a family working time, more childcare offers and a reform of the spousal splitting.
Gender Pay Gap: Wage gap in other European countries significantly smaller
Although more women are working today than in previous decades, a higher female employment rate in Europe tends to be associated with a larger wage gap. “The background is that with a high employment rate, many low-earning women are also included in the calculation,” explained DIW.
Compared to 14 European countries with a female employment rate between 70 and 80 percent, however, Germany did not perform better. In Denmark, Norway, Finland and Sweden, even more women are sometimes employed than in Germany, but the wage gap with men is often “significantly smaller””.
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