In Slovenia, Women in Construction Are Paid More Than Man

Thursday October 2, 2008

Slovenia values the contributions of its women in business more than the U.S.

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The disparity in income between men and women for many fields in Slovenia is less than it is in the U.S. And here is another interesting twist, while women in Slovenia are slightly less-educated than men, they seem to be doing better when it comes to men’s vs. women’s pay than American women. In the U.S. women are more educated than men. Women hold more higher degrees than men (and we also graduate with higher average grades). So why is it in the U.S. that education and skills are not the deciding factor on whether a women should receive equal pay?

U.S. women business owners cannot get even 1% of government construction contracts. Does this mean women cannot compete in the construction business? Maybe not in the U.S., but according to the Republic of Slovenia women in construction make more than men. More.

Slovenia has the second highest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita of the new EU countries. (The U.S. GDP is well, think $700 billion bailout of Wall Street to get a fix on how well we are doing.) It seems evident that valuing the contribution of women affects an economy. The U.S should learn to place higher value on the contributions of the millions of women business owners and even more working women. In this election year, it would help the economy, stupid.

Slovenian business women are obviously being valued for their contributions. I applaud Slovenia women and men for the progress they are making towards closing the income gender gap and hope to see more of the same in the U.S.

Note: Slovenia is a European country that borders Croatia, Italy, Hungary, and Austria.

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