A miracle has happened: The wage gap between men and women shrank by an impressive 2 percentage points in 2024 – the biggest drop since the data series began in 2006. This finding by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) is significant, but certainly not a reason to celebrate.

Beyond the fundamental issue that women are still paid less than men for the same work, a look at history explains why progress is insufficient. In 2006, the gender pay gap stood at 23%. Between 2020 and 2024, it remained stagnant at 18%. Now, it has dropped to 16%, meaning a difference of 4.1 euros gross per hour. At this rate, it will take until the early 2070s for Equal Pay Day to fall on January 1. This symbolic day marks how many extra days women would need to work to earn the same average salary as men. This year, it falls on March 7. That it was on March 6 last year is only due to 2024 being a leap year.

Need more reasons why the annual outcry over the wage gap is important, yet unfortunately ineffective so far? The gender pay gap is an official indicator in the German Sustainability Strategy, under the category of gender equality. The government had set a goal of reducing the wage gap to 10% by 2020 and maintaining that level until 2030. To put it mildly, that target has been missed by a long shot. Moreover, the adjusted gender pay gap – accounting for differences in qualifications, job roles, and career paths – remains unchanged. In 2024, as in the previous year, women still earned 6% less per hour than men on average. In 2006, the gap was 8%, but by 2014, it had already dropped to 6%, meaning little real progress in the last decade.

Looking at other European countries doesn’t make the situation any better. While Eurostat data is only available up to 2022, it still shows that Germany's wage gap is significantly above the EU average. Across the 27 EU member states, the gender pay gap stands at 12.7%. Only Estonia (21.3%), Austria (18.4%), and the Czech Republic (17.9%) have larger disparities than Germany (17.7%).

These numbers also obscure the broader consequences. This is not a minor injustice – it affects women's overall quality of life, their risk of poverty, and their retirement income. Whether the EU Pay Transparency Directive, which Germany must implement by mid-2026, will bring real change remains uncertain. It only applies to companies of a certain size, and career choice still plays a significant role in the gap.

Destatis data shows a small sign of progress in this area. The portion of the pay gap attributed to career and industry choice fell from 24% (1.06 euros) in 2023 to 21% (0.87 euro) in 2024. „This could indicate that women are increasingly entering better-paid jobs and industries“, note the statisticians. The decrease in the unadjusted wage gap is attributed to women's gross monthly earnings rising by about 8% to 2,851 euros, while men's wages increased by only 5% to 4,078 euros.