Prague, Feb 9 (CTK) – Women’s education level has increased in the Czech Republic in the past years and more than one-third of women aged 25-34, but only a quarter of men in the same age group are university graduates, according to data that the Czech Statistical Office (CSU) presented yesterday.
The share of university graduates is generally lower in the older generation where it is higher among men than women, the CSU said.
Young women are more educated than men of the same age, Michaela Klenhova, from the CSU’s demography and statistics section, said.
One-fifth of women and one-third of men have secondary education without A-level exam and 6 percent in both gender groups have only elementary education.
However, the share of men and women with basic education changes with age. In the category between 55 and 64 years, there are 18 percent of women and 6 percent of men with elementary education only.
In all education categories, men earn more than women.
In the case of university graduates, this is also caused by the fact that women generally prevail in low-paid professions, such as teachers.
The difference in the pay level is more significant in average figures since men more often occupy managerial posts.
On average, women’s salaries are more than one-fifth lower than men’s.
The Czech Republic is among the countries with the highest pay difference between both genders.
“This is caused not only by discrimination, but also by a different structure on the labour market. Men and women work in different fields,” Marek Rezanka, from CSU, said.
The fact that primarily women look after children also affects their career and employment rate. The parental leave is quite long, up to four years, and it is taken mainly by women. Only 2 percent of men take parental leave.
“In the age category of 25-34 years, the employment of women is considerably lower than that of men,” Klenhova said.
Apart from children, women also take care of their ill elderly parents, which makes their position in the labour market more difficult than men’s.
Women and men dominate in different fields. Men, for instance, dominate in the construction sector and women in the school sector. Men do manual works more often than women, while women prevail among administrative workers, Rezanka added.
