What Equal Pay Day reveals about the gender pay gap in Austria this year

One significant reason is maternity leave, which can interrupt women's careers and limit their advancement opportunities at work.

Another reason is that women are more likely to work in lower-paid industries. In fact, seven out of eleven critical job categories with lower average wages are dominated by women, such as childcare, cleaning, and auxiliary jobs.

A third factor is the higher rate of part-time employment among women, a trend linked to their responsibility for unpaid work, such as childcare.

On average, 55 percent of women in Austria work part-time, while only 10 percent of men do the same.

However, in Vienna, that number is higher for men, with 23 percent working part-time.

A recent report from the Court of Audit showed that men only took 4.1 percent of the days available for paternity leave in 2022. This suggests that men are less involved in family responsibilities, resulting in a heavier load of unpaid work for women.