Women are being paid 11 per cent less than their male counterparts, according to a study funded by the European Commission, a figure that is well below the EU average.

Data from the study – the WITA-Gender Pay Gap project – issued yesterday, shows that, while the Maltese gender pay gap last year favoured men, the rate was the fourth lowest when compared to the other European countries

The study also gives a breakdown of the four largest occupational groups, showing how women working in the service and sales industry are worse off, with a pay gap figure that stood at 21 per cent.

The next highest wage gap was for elementary occupations which stood at 17 per cent while the gap for clerical support workers was recorded as five per cent. Professionals benefitted from the lowest gap, the study showed, at two per cent.

Women listed as service and sales worker earned €6.52 an hour, according to the study, while their male counterparts were paid €8.22. Those working in elementary occupations, which involves carrying out simple routine tasks, were paid €5.12 while men working the same jobs were paid €6.20.

Female clerical support workers were paid 42c less an hour while professionals were paid 30c less than men in the same position, the study showed.

The project is aimed at raising awareness on what leads to the pay gap and how this could be effectively decreased through analysis of the member states and Turkey. The figures were obtained through a comparison of the gender-specific gross median wages and dividing the resulting difference by the male median wage.

The lowest gender pay gap was recorded in Finland and Slovenia, both scoring six per cent, followed by Denmark, Belgium, Netherlands where a pay gap of eight per cent was reported, followed by Sweden at 10 per cent.

At the other end of the spectrum stood Bulgaria, with a gap of 39 per cent, followed by Romania (34 per cent) and Austria (29 per cent).

Last month, data issued by the European Union’s statistics office Eurostat showed that, in 2014, the gender wage gap in Malta was the second lowest in the EU.

The study defines gender pay gap as “unequal pay for work of equal value which is performed with the same skills and qualifications”, claiming this often results from gender segregation attitudes and practices.

“These attitudes and practices reinforce the existing unequal development opportunities for men and women, as well as unjustified remuneration within occupational groups and professions.”