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Saarland's female teachers fight €500 pay gap on Women's Day

A union's bold push for fair wages exposes systemic inequality. Will Saarland finally close the pay gap that hits women hardest?

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The image shows a black and white illustration of a woman in a dress and a man in a suit talking to...
The image shows a black and white illustration of a woman in a dress and a man in a suit talking to each other. The woman is standing on the left side of the image, while the man is sitting on a chair on the right side. In the background, there is a cupboard filled with books and other objects. At the bottom of the picture, there are several people standing and sitting on the floor, and at the top and bottom right corner of the paper there is some text. The text reads "The State Industrial School for Girls at Middleton".

Saarland's female teachers fight €500 pay gap on Women's Day

Primary school teachers in Saarland earn significantly less than their counterparts in other German states. The pay gap, described as indirect discrimination, mostly affects women who dominate the profession. Now, the GEW Saarland union is pushing for change on International Women's Day.

Around 2,200 primary school teachers in Saarland currently fall under a lower pay grade than colleagues in most other states. The disparity also impacts roughly 120 educators at comprehensive schools and about 300 school leaders. While salaries for primary teachers have risen across Germany, Saarland's base pay remains lower than in states like Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria.

The union argues that primary and lower-secondary teachers should be reclassified under the A13/E13 pay scale, matching nearly all other Länder. This adjustment would close a gap of roughly €500 in monthly starting salaries. Most German states have already implemented comparable percentage increases over the past five years, but differences persist due to varying pay scale systems rather than growth rates. GEW Saarland is now demanding equal pay for all teachers, framing the current system as indirect discrimination. The call comes as part of broader efforts to address wage inequality, particularly affecting women in education.

The union's push for equal pay could reshape teacher salaries in Saarland. If successful, the change would align the state with most of Germany, closing a €500 monthly gap for new educators. The outcome may also set a precedent for addressing indirect pay discrimination in female-dominated professions.

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