Gender Inequality Persists in the Valencian Community’s Economy
Despite progress in recent years, true equality between men and women remains distant in the economic sphere. Women still hold a smaller share of management posts, earn lower salaries, and experience greater exposure to part-time work. This imbalance echoes beyond the workplace, with women generally collecting lower pensions than their male peers.
These conclusions come from the report Women and Men in the Valencian Community, produced by the Valencian Institute of Statistics (IVE). The study analyzes up to 163 indicators to examine the gender gap across multiple domains, from policy and health to the labor market and beyond. The breadth of this analysis highlights how gender disparities permeate many facets of public life in the region. (IVE)
In the purely economic dimension, the activity rate stands out as a notable gap. Only 53.6% of women are employed or actively seeking work at the legal age to work, compared with 64.1% of men. This suggests that a substantial portion of women still adjusts their career plans to accommodate home and family responsibilities. (IVE)
As expected, pay remains a central driver of these disparities. On average, in autonomous communities, a woman earns about 12% less than a man for each hour worked, contributing to a lower annual income. The gap in hourly wages has narrowed somewhat since 2012, but it remains a meaningful 19.4% according to IVE data. This modest improvement shows the persistent challenge of achieving wage parity. (IVE)
The wage gap tends to widen over time, with women earning an average of 5,073 euros less than men on a per-person basis as detailed in the report. This figure underscores how early career differences accumulate into sizable yearly income differences for families and households in the region. (IVE)
Activities and Occupational Segregation
The core issue lies in the kind of tasks that different groups perform. For instance, the rate of women occupying director or managerial roles in companies remains relatively low, with only about 49 women for every 100 men in such positions. In contrast, women are more represented in more specialized or lower-wage tasks, where the ratio can reach 146.7% for certain occupations. In other words, there are 146 women for every 100 men in some basic job categories. (IVE)
In the analysis of specific fields, women are particularly prominent in areas such as clerical, administrative, and office work, with a rate around 209.5%. The catering, commerce, and other personal services sectors follow closely at 158.7%, and technical and scientific professions – a category that includes many teachers, health professionals, and others requiring university training – stand at 139.9%. (IVE)
It is notable that women have a strong presence in the public sector. In public employment, female participation has risen significantly since 2008, reaching a ratio of 145.5% — well above previous levels. This points to a growing female presence in public administration and related areas. (IVE)
On the other hand, some sectors are markedly more masculine. Structure-related fields such as manufacturing employ far fewer women, with around nine women for every 100 men. The army records a similarly low share at roughly 14%, and plant and machine operator roles stand at about 18.7%. (IVE)
In terms of employment density, the gender gap remains evident. About 60.7% of female workers hold full-time positions, compared with 80.6% of men. Women also experience a higher tendency toward part-time work and mixed or intermittent schedules, with 26.1% of women in part-time roles versus 12.1% of men. (IVE)
These occupational and working-hour differences accumulate through a career, leading to consequences in retirement. The pension landscape reflects this divergence: the autonomous retirees data show an average pension of 12,880 euros per year for women, compared to 17,272 euros for male retirees, illustrating how earnings disparities translate into retirement gaps. (IVE)