Just in time for 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗪𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻’𝘀 𝗗𝗮𝘆: Bettina Knoetzl discusses the alarming figures regarding the pay gap between women and men in Austria.

A recent study shows that women in Austria effectively work 42 days per year without pay compared to men. In 2023, women earned 18.3% less per hour than their male colleagues, a disparity that is significantly greater than the EU average of 12.7%.
The reasons are largely structural:
• Women remain overrepresented in lower-paid sectors, such as healthcare and education, where work is still systematically undervalued.
• Unpaid domestic work continues to be unevenly distributed.
• Austria has one of the highest rates of part-time employment among women, providing reduced long-term career opportunities.
In the legal profession, the glass ceiling also persists. Yet there are signs of progress: over the past decade, the share of registered female attorneys in Austria has increased from 20.5% to 25.2%, and concerted efforts to improve the compatibility of legal practice and family life are beginning to show results. The option to suspend legal practice after childbirth is widely taken, and improvements to parental leave regulations are on the horizon.
There is still significant room for progress. While 54% of new entrants to the legal profession are women, only a small number ultimately reach the highest earning levels.
𝗔𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗮’𝘀 𝗣𝗮𝘆 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆 𝗔𝗰𝘁 (𝟮𝟬𝟭𝟭) has so far proven insufficient. With the 𝗘𝗨 𝗣𝗮𝘆 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆 𝗗𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 to be implemented by June 2026, introducing stricter reporting obligations and sanctions, the coming years will reveal whether meaningful change can be achieved.