BKV Reports -6.8% Gender Pay Gap for Women Budapest 2025

BUDAPEST, HUNGARY – The city’s public transport operator, BKV, has published its 2025 gender pay gap data, revealing that women’s average hourly wages are 6.8% higher than men’s. The report, calculated for the sixth consecutive year using a UK-based methodology, also shows men remain the majority in all four pay segments, particularly in the highest-earning roles.

What Is the Full Scope of This Development?

BKV’s 2025 analysis indicates a negative pay gap, which favors female employees across primary metrics. The average hourly wage gap is -6.8% and the median is -7.3%. Similarly, the bonus gap shows an average of -9.4% and a median of -4.2%, again favoring women. Despite these figures, the data on pay quartiles reveals a structural imbalance: women constitute only 29.4% of the top pay segment and 16.2% of the upper-middle segment. The company credits its positive pay gap results to the implementation of the HAY model for job evaluation and pay, introduced in 2018.

Key Development Data

How Does This Compare to Industry Trends?

BKV’s reported figures present a significant outlier when compared to broader international trends. In the wider economy, the gender pay gap is reportedly widening, with recent studies indicating that women earned approximately 82 cents for every dollar men earned in 2026, down from 83 cents the previous year (Source: HR Dive, 2026). This disparity translates into an estimated $1 million in lost earnings for a woman over a 40-year career. Research points to systemic factors such as the “motherhood penalty” and disparities in career progression as primary drivers of the gap, which persists across all education levels and typically widens as women advance in their careers (Source: Forbes, 2026). BKV’s success in eliminating the like-for-like pay gap runs counter to this prevailing global pattern.

Editor’s Analysis

The BKV data highlights a critical distinction between “equal pay for equal work” and “equal opportunity.” While the operator’s structured HAY pay system appears to have successfully eliminated direct wage discrimination for comparable roles, the low representation of women in top pay quartiles indicates a persistent barrier to career advancement. This suggests that while BKV’s pay policy is effective, the company still faces a significant challenge in vertical gender segregation. The issue is not unequal pay, but unequal access to the highest-paying positions, a problem that mirrors systemic challenges identified in the broader global workforce.

FAQ

Q: What does a negative gender pay gap at BKV mean?
A: A negative gap means that, according to BKV’s 2025 data, the average and median hourly wages for female employees were 6.8% and 7.3% higher, respectively, than those for male employees.

Q: Why do men dominate higher-paying jobs if the pay gap favors women?
A: The data suggests a structural issue where fewer women hold senior, higher-paid positions, even if their hourly rate in comparable roles is equal or greater. This points to challenges in career progression rather than direct pay discrimination for a given role.

Q: What system does BKV credit for its pay gap results?
A: BKV attributes its results to a job evaluation and pay system based on the HAY model, which was implemented in 2018. The company states this system provides all employees with predictable and competitive salaries regardless of gender.