Contrary to the general phenomenon of the gender-related gap pay, women in Indonesia are paid more than their male counterparts for the same job. However, women are less likely than men to work in top positions.

Consulting firm Korn Ferry revealed that globally, men were paid more than women with a 16.1 percent gap. However, when comparing the pay for men and women at the same job level, the gap narrowed to 5.3, and it narrowed further to 1.5 percent when they work at the same company and the same level. When comparing men and women working at the same level at the same company and performing the same function, the pay gap narrows to merely 0.5 percent.

The same trend is seen in the Asian region. However, the data reveal that the pay gap is partly reversed in Indonesia..

The overall gender pay gap in Indonesia is 5.3 percent, but this does not simply mean that women are paid less than men in the general sense.

When comparing men and women at the same job level, women are paid 1.2 percent more than men. When they work at the same level at and at the same company, women are paid 1.7 percent more. And when they work at the same level at the same company and performing the same function, women are paid 4.1 percent more than their male counterparts.

Korn Ferry argues that the gender-related pay gap is not only about unequal pay, but also the lack of women in high-paying positions. There are more men at the top level of organizations than women, which increases the average pay for men. By contrast, there are more women in low positions, hence the lower average pay for women.

Indonesia’s overall gap pay is narrower than that of other countries, including Vietnam at 17.6 percent, China at 12.7 percent, India at 16.1 percent, the United States at 17.6 percent and Brazil at 26.2 percent. Both Indonesia and Vietnam are classified under fast-growing countries, which on average have an 11.5 percent pay gap between men and women.

Diverging from the global trend, fast-growing countries, according to the survey, favor women when it comes to paying employees at the same company at the same level (1.3 percent) and for the same function (3.1 percent).

Dhritiman Chakrabarti, senior client partner at Korn Ferry Hay Group, argued that the pay gap could be addressed “if there is an ongoing effort to enable, encourage and select talented women to take on and thrive in challenging roles.” (evi)