The President of Ennis Chamber has suggested conformity to outdated gender roles is to blame for a gender pay gap in Clare.
A new analysis of weekly earnings in Ireland shows while wages are rising for both men and women in Clare, the gap has widened between their respective earnings.
The Central Statistics Office’s latest analysis of mean and median weekly earnings is based on Revenue’s employee tax data concerning employees earning €500 or more annually and working for at least two weeks in a year.
The data shows that men in Clare earn an average of €761 a week which is up 5% from 2022.
This is 24% above the median weekly earnings of women in the county who make just €612.76 per week and have seen an increase of just 3% in the space of a year.
Clare’s average earnings are the 10th highest in the country – with Dublin, Kildare and Meath having the highest.
Clare women also have the 10th highest earnings nationwide, while the earnings of men are ranked eighth nationally.
President of Ennis Chamber of Commerce and Partner at Cashin Clancy Solicitors Sheila Lynch says women are earning less because they’re more likely to take on part-time roles which allow them to look after dependent family members.
The median weekly earnings of a worker in Clare last year were €687.03 which is just under 2% below the national average of €699.28.
However, it was up 4% from the previous year when the median in Clare was €659.86 per week.
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