Czech women's pension about one fifth lower than men's - stats

New statistics released by the Czech Social Security Administration show that women's old-age pensions are on average about one-fifth lower than men's in the Czech Republic. Men's average monthly old-age pension was 9,157 crowns (450 US dollars) at the end of last year, while women's average pension was 1,726 crowns lower. In 2001, the difference was 17.4 percent, last year it came close to 19 percent. Czech women earn an average one quarter less than men as most of them work in professions with lower wages. Equal rights experts say that women in the same positions and doing the same work as men often receive less money than men, a fact later reflected in their pensions.