Russians Getting Paid the Most in Their Thirties or Even Earlier and Not Just Before Retirement as is True Elsewhere, Rosstat Data Show

Paul Goble

            Staunton, May 23 – In most industrialized countries, the income of workers rises throughout their careers, peaking just before retirement; but in Russia, Rosstat data show, the pattern is different. There workers’ incomes peak much earlier, especially for women but for men as well, the To Be Precise portal says.

            The reasons for that tell a lot about the nature of gender inequality, the failure of the Russian system to support the continuing education of workers, and the increasingly stratified nature of that country’s workforce, the portal suggests (tochno.st/materials/zarplata-rossiiskix-zenshhin-dostigaet-pika-v-25-let-u-muzcin-na-10-let-pozze).

            On average, Rosstat data show, the portal says, that “in Russia pay rises until 30 to 34 years of age … but after that point, gradually falls,” with hourly pay falling 38 percent from what it had been at its highest level, a pattern that sets Russian apart from other industrialized countries and that feeds anger among aging workers.

            Rosstat data show that incomes for men reach their highest point between the ages of 35 and 39, while women reach their highest incomes much earlier, between 25 and 29, after which their pay practically doesn’t grow at all: Those 65  and older get paid only 18 percent more than the very youngest workers” and much less than that from those in the highest paid cohorts.

            Russian researchers at Moscow’s Higher School of Economics explain the gender difference as a penalty for maternity. “After the birth of children, the incomes of women as a rule fall, at a time when men, in contrast receive what can be called ‘a premium for fatherhood.’ In 2010-2018, the pay of fathers was 25 percent higher than that received by childless men.”

            The To Be Precise portal pointed to a series of other facts of life as far as pay and age are concerned, including the following:

·       “The higher the role of experience and promotion in professions, the longer pay grows and the more significant are the differences between the genders.”

·       “Unqualified workers have a career trajectory as far as pay is concerned that is almost the diametric opposite of this.” Both men and women have their highest pay by age 30 and after that time see their pay fall.

·       “For highly qualified specialists, the peak of pay both among men and among women occurs between the ages of 35 and 39, and subsequent declines are smaller and occur more slowly than is the case of others.”

The portal notes that these conclusions are a snapshot of the workforce today and reflect the different experiences of various generations rather than the pattern any particular worker will encounter. But they suggest that shortcomings in continuing education, healthcare and the like mean that the experiences of individuals may very well follow the same trajectory with time.