#ZEWPodcast
The #ZEWPodcast “Wirklich Wirtschaft” offers direct insights into ZEW's research – understandable, up-to-date, and close to the scientists. The podcast is available in two formats: “ZEW Wirklich Wirtschaft Kompakt”, the short and concise news and explanation format, and “ZEW Wirklich Wirtschaft Background” which explores topics in greater depth and context. In the future, there will also be episodes in English.
From 2020 to 2025, the podcast ran under the title “Wirtschaft · Forschung · Debatten” (in German language only). At the end of 2025, it was relaunched and has since been renamed “ZEW Wirklich Wirtschaft”.
You can find the podcast on all popular platforms, including Podigee, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify.
Do you have any comments, ideas, or feedback about the podcast? Feel free to write to us at podcast@zew.de.
Click on the magnifying glass to select different years and get even more impressions of ZEW research in our podasts of the last years!
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#ZEWPodcast 30 Per Cent Less Wages For Women?
26 February 2026 is Equal Pay Day in Germany. It aims to draw attention to the gender pay gap or gender wage gap: In 2025, women in Germany earned an average of 16 per cent less per hour than men. Dr. Eliza Stenzhorn discusses the income gap between men and women in the gig economy in this edition of the ZEW podcast.
In her conversation with podcast host Fabian Oppel, Stenzhorn explains, based on her own study, that the unadjusted gender wage gap in the gig economy is very high at almost 30 per cent. However, this discrepancy can largely be explained: around 90 per cent of the explainable wage difference is due to differences in application behaviour, with a smaller proportion attributable to differences in formal education and specific qualifications. When these factors are taken into account statistically, the gender wage gap is reduced to less than two percent – much lower than in traditional labour markets. The way in which women and men use the platforms on which jobs are advertised is therefore highly relevant.