Women in the workplace have nine years less labour experience than men by the age of 47, due to the arrival of children, a report on male and female wage differentials published today said.
The Consultative Group which carried out the report considered that the achievement of gender equality requires a rebalancing of the traditional roles of women and men in relation to child rearing.
One of the main reasons for the gender gap in wages is due to women leaving employment during their childbearing and childrearing years thereby missing out on promotional positions within their workplace, especially in low paid jobs, the report carried out for the Government found.
The report recommends employers help with the childcare needs of their staff through creche facilities and the provision of subsidies to assist with the cost of childcare.
It also recommends the Department of Education and Science should develop initiatives to eliminate sex-role stereotyping in education at all levels. Efforts also need to be made to raise awareness of the implications of career choices made by students.
The most recent figures show that women's get paid 14.7 per cent less than their male counterparts in Ireland.
The report also stated that the Government should continue to focus tax changes on removing low-paid workers from the tax net as this is likely to have the greatest impact on female net earnings. However, this cannot be a substitute for addressing the fundamental issue of women earning less than men.
The Minister of State at the Department of Justice, Mr Willie O'Dea, said he was "pleased to see that the Civil Service Gender Equality policy is being proposed as a national model".
