Contribution period, wages and their consequences for pensions: gender gap at the end of working life

Abstract

The study of gender differences in the labour trajectories of women and men between 45 and 65 years old, enable to measure their impact on gender wage gap. The analysis of several aspects of these paths, such as the length in the Social Security system, periods of interruption throughout their working lives or the number of employment interruptions, shows that women spend more and longer periods out of employment. This fact notably explains the observed gender wage differentials. Consequently, if women suffer a double penalty, because they accumulate fewer periods of contribution and have lower incomes, their retirement pensions will always be lower than those of men. The recent reform of the pension system and tightening of requirements may worsen their situation and likely increase the gender gap in contributive pensions.