Vermögensunterschiede nach Geschlecht in Österreich und Deutschland. Eine Analyse auf der Personenebene

The difference in wages and income between men and women – the gender wage gap – has been a central point in empirical research for decades. The analysis of gender differences in wealth holdings, however, is largely absent from the literature. This is an important omission because wealth is a more comprehensive indicator of the well-being of households and individuals than income is. This report examines the gender wealth gap within Austrian households using 2014 Household Finance and Consumption Survey (HFCS) data. Our research paper contributes to the existing literature by presenting the first study of gender-related wealth differences at the individual level in Austria. Furthermore, we compare our results for Austria to those for Germany, which are calculated using data from the German Socio-oeconomic Panel (SOEP). Our findings suggest that there are gender-specific wealth differences in both countries. We find an average gender wealth gap of 58.417e for men and women in coupled households in Austria. Women thus hold 28 percent less wealth than men. We further study the relationship between the gender wealth gap and employment status, finding that there is a gender wealth gap of 35 percent for employed women in Austria. The gap is even larger when comparing full-time employees: women working in full-time positions own 43 percent less wealth compared to male full-time workers. Similar results can be found in Germany: on average, we identify a gender wealth gap of 40.599 €, or 32 percent, in German coupled households.