Romanian women are willing to settle for salaries 20% lower than men, according to a study conducted by local recruiting platform eJobs Romania.

The users of the eJobs.ro platform have been asked what is the net salary they consider fair for the job they are looking for. The women’s answers resulted in a RON 2,914 (EUR 647) average while in the men’s case the average was RON 3,650 (EUR 811).

Moreover, women would settle for a minimum wage of RON 2,311 (EUR 513), on average, to get the desired job, while men wouldn’t accept less than RON 2,880 (EUR 640), the study shows.

However, the study doesn’t mention if the jobs women want are similar to those men look for. Thus, it may be that more women are looking for entry-level, lower paid jobs than women asking for lower salaries than men for the exact same jobs. Official statistics show that Romania has the lowest gender pay gap in the EU.

When it comes to age, the study reveals that men aged between 45 and 54 have the highest salary expectations. Thus, those aged 45-54 think that the fair net salary for them would be RON 4,146 (some EUR 920) per month. Men between 55 and 65 years would be satisfied with monthly net gain of RON 4,091 (EUR 909).

Women aged 45-65 also have the highest expectations when it comes to their salaries. Women between 55 and 65 years would be happy with a net salary of RON 3,853 (EUR 856), and those aged from 45 to 54 would take a job that brings them a monthly income of RON 3,527 (EUR 783).

For both men and women, the lowest salary expectations are found at those aged between 18 and 24, who are mainly looking for entry level jobs. Young men feel that the fair salary for them would be around RON 2,153 (EUR 478), on average, while young women think that they should be paid RON 1,870 (EUR 415).

The study also shows that the Romanians who are at the beginning or at end of their career are willing to make big compromises when it comes to the salary. The biggest difference between the salary seen as fair and the minimum salary that the candidate would be willing to accept is registered in the 55-65 age group, reaching 29%. The 18-24 age group is next with a 28% difference.

Overall, the candidates aged between 18 and 24 would accept a minimum net pay of RON 1,548 (EUR 344), those between 25 and 34 years would take a job that brings them an income of RON 2,519 (EUR 559), and those with ages between 45 and 65 would work for more than RON 3,000 per month (over EUR 660).

When it comes to education, the graduates of postgraduate studies believe that they are entitled to benefit from a salary that is 83% higher than the one earned by high school graduates. For example, high school graduates expect to receive a fair salary of RON 2,274 (EUR 505) per month, and the graduates of postgraduate studies want to be paid RON 4,161 (EUR 924), on average.

Based on areas of activity, the Romanians with the highest salary expectations want jobs in fields such as import-export - RON 4,944 (some EUR 1,100), management/consulting – RON 4,694 (over EUR 1,000), and architecture/design – RON 4,315 (EUR 958). In contrast, the most modest salary expectations are found in sectors such as secretarial/administrative – RON 2,225 (EUR 494), media/journalism – RON 2,283 (EUR 507), and public relations – RON 2,450 (EUR 544).

The study also reveals that, although the employees in Bucharest are the best paid employees nationwide, the candidates in Western Romania have higher salary expectations than those in the capital. At the other end, candidates in North-Eastern Romania would settle for wages up to 30% lower compared to those in Western Romania.

The eJobs study was conducted between June 1 and June 15, 2016, on a sample of more than 1,200 people. The results are available here (in Romanian).

Romanian women’s salaries, 9.1% lower than those of men

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Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com