Women earn 26% less than men

WOMEN in Ireland earn an average of 26% less an hour than men. This is considerably higher than in Slovenia where the gap at 11% is the smallest in the EU.

A new programme to bridge the pay gap between women and men will be launched by the EU tomorrow as the difference in wages remains stubbornly wide.

The study will concentrate on finding out why the pay gap exists and put forward options for tackling it.