Congress welcomes this opportunity to comment on the preponderance of women on the minimum wage. Low pay is more common among: female workers; those in the retail, hospitality, food and security sectors; lone parents; and those on temporary contracts. Women are overrepresented in the latter three groups above and of the 75,000 workers on the minimum wage, 65% are women. The call in the Congress submission to gradually align the minimum wage with the living wage culminating in a minimum wage of €11.50 following the 2017 review would have a disproportionately favourable effect on women’s earnings. While this would be an important development from a gender perspective, this submission will go on to assert that it is problematic that women continue to be overrepresented among people on low pay and the minimum wage, examine the causes of this and make recommendations as to how it might be addressed. The reasons for a preponderance of women on low pay and the minimum wage are many and complex and require more research into broad social, educational and industrial relation issues.
European Parliament
