Finland's gender wage gap narrows slightly in 2008

HELSINKI, Nov. 6 -- Finland's gender wage gap narrowed slightly in 2008 with women's average monthly earnings increasing from 80.2 percent of men's to 80.8 percent, a report released by the country's statistical institution said on Friday.

The narrowing of the gender wage gap was explained both by a change in the structure of the wage and salary earning population and better development of women's rather than men's earnings in 2008, Statistics Finland said.

In 2008, Finnish women's average earnings rose by 5.8 percent and men's by 4.9 percent, it said, adding that women's earnings rose faster than men's in all employer sectors.

Finland's structure of the wage and salary earning population in 2008 was also changed due to a reduced number of full-time wage and salary earning men in manufacturing and improved coverage of the private services and the local government sectors, it added.

However, the wide pay gap still existed in all employer sectors. In the central government sector, women and men earned 2,876 euros (4277 U.S. dollars) and 3,501 euros (5206 dollars) a month, respectively, and in the local government sector the figures were 2,513 euros (3737 dollars) and 3,116 euros (4633 dollars), according to the report.

Women's monthly pay in the private sector was 2,583 euros (3841dollars), 581 euros (864 dollars) less than their male colleagues.

In total, the average monthly earnings of all full-time wage and salary earners amounted to 2,876 euros (4277 dollars) in Finland in the last quarter of 2008, with women earning 2,575 euros (3829 dollars), 610 euros (907 dollars) less than their male colleagues.