Women in Geneva benefit from the introduction of the minimum wage
Published: Thursday, Sep 19th 2024, 14:50
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The introduction of the minimum wage at the end of 2020 had a positive impact on women in the canton of Geneva. The main losers are young men between the ages of 18 and 15 who have not completed upper secondary education.
According to a study presented on Thursday, women's chances of finding a new job have increased by 6.5 percent compared to men. "I am pleased to see that the minimum wage has reduced the inequalities between women and men on the labor market, even if these inequalities unfortunately still exist," said Delphine Bachmann, Head of the Department of Economic Affairs and Employment, at a media conference.
According to Professor José Ramirez, one of the authors of the study, the particular impact on women can be explained by the fact that most low-paid jobs are held by women. The minimum wage is therefore a strong incentive for them to accept a job. Overall, the duration of unemployment for women has shortened relative to that of men, but is still higher than for men.
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The duration of unemployment among 18 to 25-year-olds is still shorter than among older people, albeit to a lesser extent than before the introduction of the minimum wage. For these young, relatively poorly educated jobseekers, the minimum wage has meant that they are more likely to leave unemployment without knowing what they are doing. However, according to the authors of the study, it is likely that these young people had an incentive to resume or complete training.
In Geneva, the minimum wage is currently around CHF 24 per hour or CHF 4215 per month for a 40-hour week. The cantons of Neuchâtel, Jura, Ticino and Basel-Stadt have also introduced a minimum wage.
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