Study: German Women Earn Half that of Male Counterparts

The average income of German women is around half that of their male counterparts, a new study showed on Wednesday.

In the first-ever gender-specific analysis of income and tax distribution in Germany, the DIW think tank found that the average income of women "is only half that of men".

The analysis was based on the most recently available data on personal income tax statistics from 2007.

Instead of just looking at hourly pay -- where official statistics show that women in Germany earn around 22 percent less than men -- the study also examined the differences between overall income, including capital and rental income and taxation.

The gender income gap resulted because women were frequently employed in lower income jobs, said the study's author Stefan Bach.

They were also more likely to work in part-time employment and their careers interrupted by pregnancy and maternity leave and these factors affected the level of their pensions, their unemployment and other welfare payments.

DIW found that the gender gap was not quite so pronounced in capital and rental income.

In capital income, women earned around one third less than their male counterparts, but in rental income, women even actually received slightly more than men, DIW said.