CSN News reports that the construction sector is the only industry in Spain where women earn more money than men.

In Spain, there is only one economic sector where there is not a gender pay gap. It is more accurate to say that the pay gap only affects male workers in one sector. This pay gap is peculiarly found in the construction industry, which is a male-dominated trade. According to the study “The gender pay gaps in Spain: What factors are responsible for its persistence?” women make up less than 12% in the construction industry, but they earn 15% more on average than men. Esade is a private Spanish academic institution that has close links to industry, business and commerce. The reason for this is that women in the field are often the most highly qualified, while men tend to occupy jobs that require less training and qualifications.

The transport and warehouse sector is another area where few women work, but the ones that do get paid close to what their male colleagues receive. In this sector, the average salary of women is just 1% below that of men. The disparity between men and women’s salaries in other sectors are much higher. In the social and health services sector, for example, there is a 21% gender pay gap. This is also true for professional and scientific pursuits. In both sectors, women earn less than men.

Esade reports that occupational segregation is responsible for a large portion of the pay gap. But, after accounting for individual and company characteristics, nearly half remains unaccounted. In the financial sector, the same thing is true: 42% of the 17% pay difference is due to women concentrating in low-paying jobs. Personal and company characteristics cannot explain the rest.

The good thing is that in the last 12 years, the hourly gap in pay has been reduced by almost half from 15% to 9%.