Frankfurt am Main – In companies in the metal and electrical industries covered by collective bargaining agreements, women earn nearly 11 euros per hour more than women who do not benefit from such agreements. The pay gap between men and women is thus 9 percentage points smaller than in companies without collective bargaining agreements. This is the finding of an analysis by the union using current figures from the Federal Statistical Office on International Women’s Day on March 8.
“Collective bargaining agreements are a guarantee of equality, because they have been proven to narrow the pay gap,” asserts Christiane Benner, Second Chair of IG Metall. This can have positive effects on women’s labor force participation and thus help address one of the most pressing problems in today’s workforce: “These are two ‘F’ words that should always be spoken: skilled labor shortage and women. If you want skilled workers, you can’t do without women!”
By way of comparison: Across society as a whole, women earn 18 percent less than men. But even with the same qualifications and job roles, the so-called gender pay gap still stands at 7 percent.
According to IG Metall, collective bargaining agreements not only reduce the pay gap but also promote women’s labor force participation in terms of full-time and part-time employment rates. According to figures from the Federal Employment Agency, female employees in IG Metall’s sectors work full-time relatively more often than in the economy as a whole. Between 2013 and 2022, the number of women employed full-time in these sectors rose by half as much again as in the rest of the economy: by 9.3 percent instead of 6.6 percent.
“We have been successful in creating working conditions through collective bargaining agreements and company agreements that enable women to work full-time or close to full-time. That is why full-time employment among women has risen more sharply in our sector than in the economy as a whole,” says Christiane Benner, explaining this trend. “That’s good! But to truly achieve work-life balance, we need models that allow people to combine work and family life.”
It would be a mistake to assume that women, in particular, want to remain in part-time work permanently. Many of them would like to increase their working hours. To this end, the union is calling for flexible work arrangements that enable both men and women to achieve a work-life balance based on partnership. Benner: “If you want more women in the workforce, you can’t do without unions, co-determination, and collective bargaining agreements.”
Co-determination and the high level of unionization (the proportion of union members in the workforce) play a decisive role in enabling the metal and electrical industry to occupy such an exemplary position. The 2022 works council elections once again increased the proportion of women on these bodies. Co-determination means greater equality—and must therefore be promoted and expanded.
Further information:
A special analysis of figures from the Federal Employment Agency for the IG Metall organizational sector (June 2013 – June 2022) shows:
Increase in the number of part-time employees:
IG Metall’s organizational sector: Women +29.9%, Men +70.8%
Overall economy: Women +30.5%, Men +70.0%
Increase in full-time employees:
IG Metall’s organizational sector: Women +9.3%, Men +6.0%
Overall economy: Women +6.6%, Men +11%
Part-time employment:
Percentage of women working part-time in the IG Metall union sector: 31%
Percentage of women working part-time in the overall economy: 49.6%
Percentage of men working part-time in the IG Metall union’s membership base: 4.7%
Percentage of men working part-time in the overall economy: 12.6%
