THE GENDER PAY GAP in Ireland is never going to shrink, according to a new European study.
The European Trade Union Confederation have released a report which claims Ireland won't be able to close the gap unless it tackles the issue directly.
In fact, the report claims that in Ireland, the gap is still widening - as is the case with the majority of EU countries.
Figures from the report include hourly pay of all employees, leading some to regarded the findings as potentially misleading, because they include part-time pay.
Reasons for the existence of a wage gap are still up for debate. Sexism in the workplace is often banded around as an explanation, and there's evidence to suggest that this theory has weight, but many psychologists claim this is far too simplistic a diagnosis.
Men and women are intrinsically different creatures. Of course they should absolutely be treated in the same way, and afforded the same opportunities, but biology, history and society shows us that they go after different things and have different aspirations in life, and indeed professionally.
Women enjoy characteristics that men don't and vice-versa, and often, this leads to different career paths and life choices.
Not always ... but sometimes, and that's OK, right?
But either way, trying to reducing the gap a touch probably isn't a bad thing.
Going back to the report, it also claimed that it'll take France more than 1,000 years to reduce their gender wage disparity, which dropped from 15.6% to 15.5% between 2010 and 2018. Meanwhile it'll take Germany around 100 years to close its 20.9% gap.
The country with the narrowest pay gap in the EU is Romania, where the difference is just 3%. This is thought to be because in less developed EU countries fewer women work, and those that do tend to be in high-prestige jobs.
