Women walk past the U-Bahn station at Alexanderplatz in Berlin | Sean Gallup via Getty Images Berlin offers women 21 percent metro ticket discount to highlight pay gap Move comes after city authority creates public holiday for International Women’s Day.

BERLIN — Women will ride Berlin's metro, trams and buses at a 21 percent discount this month to reflect Germany's gender pay gap, the city's mass transit operator BVG said on Tuesday.

The “Frauenticket” will appear at city ticket machines on March 18, with stamped passes valid until 3 a.m. the next day, BVG said. The discount would reduce the cost of a day ticket in the inner two zones of Berlin from €7 to €5.50.

“Most men from Berlin will not only understand this action, but support it,” said BVG, adding it is a temporary measure to raise awareness. "Especially since this small gesture of solidarity is disproportionate to what women are deprived of in income on a yearly basis."

The stunt has been timed to equal pay day and comes just weeks after the local government in the German capital passed a law creating a public holiday on International Women’s Day. Germany’s gender pay gap is among the widest in the EU, with only Estonia and the Czech Republic measuring higher differences, according to Eurostat data for 2017.

Any men holding a discounted ticket will be treated as fare dodgers. “This is just like other discounted tickets: Those who use them must prove that they are eligible,” said BVG.

The operator said it apologizes to any men who feel discriminated against, but continued: “On the other hand, who apologizes to the women who earn on average 21 percent less?”

BVG, which is owned by the city and employs around 15,000 people, said it is pressing ahead with its target to increase female representation in its workforce from 20 percent to 27 percent by 2022.

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