Gender pay gap audit and elimination – Vilnius Academy of Arts (LT)

In April 2021, the State Social Insurance Fund Board (SODRA) under the Ministry of Social Security and Labour) analysed data from the Vilnius Academy of Arts. It found that, on average, women earned slightly less than their male colleagues (the gender pay gap amounted to 2 %). This result reflects the implementation of the “Plan of Measures for the Implementation of Equality at the Vilnius Academy of Arts”. In 2019, the Rector began to address salary-based inequalities as part of efforts to embed the principles of fairness and social justice by ensuring equal pay for equal work. At organisational level, study programmes receive different funding, leading to salary variation by department. For example, a lector (the lowest position) in one department could earn as much as a professor (the highest position) in another department, i.e. the salary was not related to the position, but, rather, to the department. In addition, there is strong segregation of women and men by field, and, correspondingly, by department. Women are overrepresented both in the lowest positions and in departments with the lowest salaries. The initiative thus sought to address the gender pay gap and – to some extent - women’s and men’s different status. The elimination of the gender pay gap is one measure of the “Plan of Measures for the Implementation of Equality at Vilnius Academy of Arts”. It directly correlates with other measures, such as equal opportunities and inclusion in recruitment and career advancement procedures, gender balance in leading positions, support for employees who have taken parental leave or have not worked for a long time, etc.