OSLO, Norway — On Thursday, the Norwegian Minister for Equality expressed her strong disapproval regarding the prevailing wage gap between men and women in the country, noting that men earn, on average, 13% more than their female counterparts. This statement came in light of a government report highlighting that despite Norway’s reputation as an egalitarian society, the pay disparity continues to linger.
The report, which encompasses data from 2015 to 2022, aligns closely with statistics from the European Union, despite Norway not being part of the EU. According to the European Commission, the gender pay gap across the 27 EU member states was recorded at 12.7% in 2021 and has seen only marginal shifts over the last ten years.
Prepared by the Norwegian Ministry of Culture and Equality, the report reveals that little progress has been made in closing wage discrepancies between men and women performing identical roles since 2015. Minister Lubna Jaffery remarked on this issue, stating, “It is completely unacceptable that two individuals with similar jobs, experience, and qualifications receive different pay,” during her comments to the Norwegian news service NTB.
The findings from the Institute for Social Research illustrate that women who work within the same sector, industry, and profession, and possess equivalent levels of education and experience, still earn about 8% less than men. This disparity decreases to about 6% when both genders share the same professional title and employer.
According to the report, a significant factor contributing to this wage gap is the tendency for men and women to be concentrated in different sectors of the labor market, which typically offer varying pay scales. The comprehensive 122-page report also highlighted variations in the wage gap across different industries, professions, educational backgrounds, and geographic regions. Interestingly, while women generally have longer educational attainment than men, they often choose fields associated with lower wages, which subsequently amplifies the pay gap between those with comparable educational qualifications.
Norway, home to approximately 5.6 million residents, has consistently been recognized for leading the charge in gender equality and high living standards. Current Norwegian statistics indicate that around 70% of women are active participants in the labor force.
Additionally, a recent October report from the U.S. Census Bureau revealed that the gender wage gap for full-time workers in the United States widened in 2023 for the first time in two decades. The report indicated that women now earn 83 cents for every dollar earned by men, a slight decrease from the previous year’s high of 84 cents.