Women earn €158 less per month than men

Women reported earning €158 less per month than their male counterparts, according to the National Statistics Office’s Labour Force Survey. 

The pay gap recorded in the final quarter of 2023 was merely €1 less than that of the same period in 2022, and €40 less than in 2021, when men earned an average of €198 more than women. 

NSO figures show that the narrowest pay gap exists within clerical roles, where men earn only €11 more than women. 

This category comprises a significant proportion of public sector employees, whose salaries adhere to fixed scales. 

In all occupational categories, men outearned women, albeit to varying extents. However, the gap is notably smaller among managers, with men earning €48 more than women.  Despite women earning nearly as much as their male counterparts, they represent only 37% of managers. Among technicians where women are also outnumbered, men also earned more by a similar amount. 

The widest gender pay gap was observed among professionals, where males earned a substantial €309 more than their female counterparts, who comprise 51% of individuals in this occupational sector. 

Yet, significant gaps also persist at the lower end of the spectrum, particularly among elementary workers, where men earn €211 more on average, and within the services and sales sector, where men report earning €189 more than women. In 2022, the gap in this segment was even larger, with men reporting €339 more.  Women account for 60% of workers in the services and sales sector. 

One-fifth of women work part-time 

The Labour Force Survey reveals that, on average, Maltese workers reported earning €1,837 per month, a mere €50 increase from the previous year and €186 more than in 2021. Compared to 2021, female incomes increased by €205 on average, while male incomes rose by €165. 

In 2023, incomes ranged from an average of €1,120 among those in elementary occupations to €2,959 among managers. The lowest-paid workers in Malta are females in elementary jobs, earning an average of just €993 per month, down from €1,070 in 2022. This is followed by males in the same category, who reported earning €1,204, and female service workers, who earned an average of €1,228. 

One significant reason for the disparity in earnings between women and men is that females are more likely to work part-time. While 19% of females have part-time employment, only 7% of males are in the same situation. Additionally, the survey indicates that while 88% of males aged between 15 and 64 were part of the labour force, the percentage of females in employment decreased to 74%. 

Of the inactive females, 38% cited family and care responsibilities as the primary reason for their inactivity, followed by 23% who had already retired, and 11% who were still studying. In contrast, none of the inactive males interviewed were inactive due to family and care responsibilities, while 69% were pensioners.