This chapter presents average real earnings of males and females between 1942 and 2014. Average weekly paid hours of males and females are also examined along with the Gender Pay Gap.
Female industrial workers earned less on average per week than their male counterparts between 1942 and 2007, see Figure 4.1 below. The difference between male and female real average weekly earnings increased over the period, from €79 in 1942 to €215 in 2007. Proportionally however, the weekly pay gap fell over the series from 50% in 1942 to 31% in 2007.
| Male | Female | |
| 1942 | 157.12 | 77.95 |
| 1943 | 140.29 | 76.31 |
| 1944 | 140.48 | 78.55 |
| 1945 | 146.85 | 83.4 |
| 1946 | 161.14 | 93.17 |
| 1947 | 181.03 | 102.1 |
| 1948 | 193.52 | 107.68 |
| 1949 | 202.28 | 113.39 |
| 1950 | 204.55 | 116.76 |
| 1951 | 209.99 | 116.32 |
| 1952 | 201.72 | 115.74 |
| 1953 | 206.08 | 116.21 |
| 1954 | 211.72 | 118.02 |
| 1955 | 217.85 | 122.07 |
| 1956 | 219.78 | 123.17 |
| 1957 | 216.7 | 120.25 |
| 1958 | 219.93 | 122.81 |
| 1959 | 226.72 | 128.78 |
| 1960 | 243.89 | 136.27 |
| 1961 | 258.19 | 138.02 |
| 1962 | 269.01 | 146.43 |
| 1963 | 275.69 | 149.11 |
| 1964 | 285.61 | 152.75 |
| 1965 | 282.81 | 150.12 |
| 1966 | 304.57 | 161.72 |
| 1967 | 310.15 | 162.96 |
| 1968 | 327.99 | 171.52 |
| 1969 | 368.59 | 173.79 |
| 1970 | 392.67 | 189.75 |
| 1971 | 409.77 | 198.16 |
| 1972 | 432.91 | 209.57 |
| 1973 | 465.38 | 235.81 |
| 1974 | 448.96 | 227.59 |
| 1975 | 470.74 | 248.08 |
| 1976 | 476.46 | 248.06 |
| 1977 | 490.2 | 259.49 |
| 1978 | 517.36 | 286.41 |
| 1979 | 523.36 | 297.59 |
| 1980 | 518.73 | 304.86 |
| 1981 | 499.81 | 295.03 |
| 1982 | 492.48 | 290.18 |
| 1983 | 502.66 | 297.74 |
| 1984 | 510.11 | 302.43 |
| 1985 | 523.31 | 305.87 |
| 1986 | 542.2 | 319.3 |
| 1987 | 549.12 | 327.76 |
| 1988 | 566.06 | 340.33 |
| 1989 | 566.72 | 338.81 |
| 1990 | 571.51 | 340.61 |
| 1991 | 579.12 | 342.56 |
| 1992 | 580.18 | 351.39 |
| 1993 | 599.98 | 370.91 |
| 1994 | 600.67 | 376.84 |
| 1995 | 612.85 | 387.07 |
| 1996 | 615.46 | 389.93 |
| 1997 | 625.19 | 401.63 |
| 1998 | 635.59 | 409.02 |
| 1999 | 658.98 | 420.54 |
| 2000 | 657.97 | 434.03 |
| 2001 | 673.97 | 442.57 |
| 2002 | 683.1 | 444.69 |
| 2003 | 698.65 | 463.42 |
| 2004 | 714.37 | 468.77 |
| 2005 | 716.64 | 484.15 |
| 2006 | 709.03 | 488.55 |
| 2007 | 696.51 | 480.97 |
For the year 1942 and the period 1960 to 1981 the Transportable Good sector is used as a proxy for All Industries.
For the period 1942 to 1972 average earnings of over 18s is used as a proxy for average earnings of all employees.
Female employees in the Industry sector work fewer hours than their male counterparts, (see Figure 4.3). Thus a comparison of weekly earnings distorts the average earnings comparisons as the gap in wages includes the difference in hours worked. The Gender Pay Gap (GPG) is defined by Eurostat as the difference between male and female average hourly earnings as a percentage of male earnings. The GPG was above 40% in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, and fell slightly to 39.5% in the 1970s, (see Figure 4.2 below). The GPG then declined in the 1980s, 1990s and the 2000s to stand at 25% in the 2000s and at 22.6% in 2014. Although the GPG has fallen considerably over the years between 1940 and 2015, the difference in earnings between the genders remains significant.
It's a Fact
| Gender Pay Gap | |
| 1940s | 42.1 |
| 1950s | 41 |
| 1960s | 42.2 |
| 1970s | 39.5 |
| 1980s | 32.4 |
| 1990s | 29.3 |
| 2000s | 24.9 |
The average weekly paid hours were 45.1 hours for males and 42.6 for females in the 1940s. Working hours increased for both genders in the 1950s after which average weekly paid hours decreased each decade for both males and females. In the 2000s males worked on average 41.3 hours per week while females worked 36.9 hours.
| Male | Female | |
| 1940s | 45.1 | 42.6 |
| 1950s | 45.8 | 43.4 |
| 1960s | 45.5 | 41.4 |
| 1970s | 44.5 | 38 |
| 1980s | 42.9 | 37.6 |
| 1990s | 42.5 | 37.4 |
| 2000s | 41.4 | 36.9 |
Female Industrial workers have worked fewer hours than males between 1940 and 2007. Males worked 5% more hours per week than females in the 1940s and 1950s and this increased to 9% in the 1960s and to 14.7% in the 1970s, the largest gender hour's gap in the series. From the 1970s the difference in average weekly paid hours worked between males and females decreased each decade and by the 2000’s males worked 10.9% more hours per week than females.
| Gender Hours Gap | |
| 1940s | 5.5 |
| 1950s | 5.2 |
| 1960s | 9 |
| 1970s | 14.7 |
| 1980s | 12.3 |
| 1990s | 11.9 |
| 2000s | 10.9 |
Go to: Earnings by Age
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