Despite advancements, a significant disparity remains, as women in the EU continue to earn 12% less than men. Euronews Business takes a closer look at the gender pay gap across Europe, marking International Women’s Day.
</p><div style="--widget_related_list_trans: 'Related';"><div class="c-ad c-ad-halfpage u-show-for-mobile-only"><div class="c-ad__placeholder"><img class="c-ad__placeholder__logo" src="https://static.euronews.com/website/images/logos/logo-euronews-grey-6-180x22.svg" width="180" height="22" alt="" loading="lazy"/><span>ADVERTISEMENT</span></div></div><p>Despite substantial progress, significant economic disparities persist between women and men, as evidenced by prominent indicators and data. Even in the European Union, recognized for its advancements in gender parity by the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Report 2023, these challenges are palpable.

In the year 2023, Eurostat reported that women in the EU earned 12% less than men, equating to earning only €88 for every €100 earned by men. 

In comparison to 2023, the gender pay gap in the EU stood at 16% in 2013, indicating a reduction of four percentage points over the decade.

The unadjusted gender pay gap serves as a critical indicator. It represents “the difference between the average gross hourly earnings of men and women expressed as a percentage of the average gross hourly earnings of men,” inclusive of enterprises with ten or more employees.

In 2023, the unadjusted gender pay gap spanned from -0.7% in Luxembourg, where women on average earned more than men, to a significant 19% in Latvia. 

Many find it helpful to consider earnings amounts rather than percentages, to better understand the disparities. For instance, in 2023, women in Latvia earned €81 for every €100 men made, closely followed by Austria and Czechia at €82 each.

This disparity becomes even more pronounced when examining monthly salaries. Using an average salary of €2,000 in Austria, this translates to women earning €360 less than men each month.

Luxembourg was an exception, where women earned €101 compared to men’s €100. The gap was less than €5 in Belgium, Italy, and Romania, positioning them as leading countries for women’s earnings after Luxembourg.

Among Europe’s top economies, the gender pay gap remained significant, except in Italy. Germany was notably fifth, with women earning €82 for every €100 earned by men. In the UK, this figure was €86, while in France, it reached €88.

Spain was marginally below the EU average at €91, while Italy boasted the third smallest gap, with women earning €98 for every €100 men made.

Analyzing key trends reveals larger unadjusted gender pay gaps in Eastern and Central European countries. Conversely, Southern European nations like Italy, Spain, and Portugal recorded some of the smallest disparities.

Interestingly, despite their well-known commitment to gender equality, Nordic countries show significant gender pay gaps, with Finland, Denmark, and Norway exceeding the EU average.

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Why do women earn less than men?

The European Commission identifies four primary reasons for the gender pay gap.

1. Overrepresentation of women in lower-paying sectors: The Commission states that approximately 24% of the gender pay gap stems from sectoral segregation, indicating women are more likely to work in lower-paid sectors such as care, health, and education. Jobs dominated by women are often undervalued.

2. Unequal distribution of paid and unpaid work: Women typically work more hours weekly than men. However, they spend more time on unpaid tasks like caregiving and household duties.

1. The glass ceiling: One’s position within a company hierarchy significantly affects earnings, with women being greatly underrepresented in leadership roles. For example, less than one in ten CEOs of major companies are women.

Another example is the media sector. The Reuters Institute at the University of Oxford found that only 27% of the 171 top editors across 240 media brands are women in 2025, despite women making up an average of 40% of journalists across the studied markets.

1. Pay discrimination: In some instances, women continue to earn less than men for performing equal work or work of equal value.

The Commission also reports that the majority of the gender pay gap in the EU remains unexplained. It cannot be attributed to factors such as education, occupation, working hours, or the economic sector of employment.

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“Increased transparency in pay would help reveal unwarranted gender-based pay differences for equivalent work,” the Commission emphasized.

The EU’s Pay Transparency Directive aims to address these issues comprehensively. 

Employment rate is also a key indicator of gender equality, and striking disparities remain.

The employment rate varies significantly between genders

Across 32 European countries (EU, EFTA, and EU candidate countries), men have higher employment rates than women in the third quarter of 2024.

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The EU average stood at 80.9% for men and 70.9% for women, reflecting a 10 percentage point (pp) gap. 

Turkey stands out with a 38 pp employment gap at a disadvantage to women. 

Equally wide were the gaps in Italy, Greece, and Romania, each exceeding 18 percentage points.