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1.2 Gender equality in the workplace

Gender and employment in the EU

Despite encouraging signs for a more equal society and labour market, progress towards full gender
equality remains slow. Economic independence is a prerequisite for both women and men to be in control
of their lives and to make genuine choices. Women’s employment rate is 64% on average in the EU, while it
is 76% for men. More women than men work part-time; women account for over 75% of part-timers.
Women also work in less valued jobs and sectors. Nearly 60% of EU university graduates are women, but
they account for less than 33% of scientists and engineers across Europe. On the other hand, women
represent nearly 80% of the total workforce in the health, education, and welfare sectors.

The impact of parenthood on labour market participation is still very different for women and men - only
65.6% of women with children under 12 work, as opposed to 90.3% of men. This reflects the unequal
sharing of family responsibilities, but also often signals a lack of childcare and work-life balance
opportunities. (Eurostat 2013). 1

Equal pay

Women in the EU earned on average 16% less per hour than men in 2017. Still, there are huge differences
between the EU countries. Women in the EU even earned 39.6% less than men overall in 2014. One of the
reasons is the fact that on average women spend fewer hours in paid work than men: Whereas only 8.7%
of men in the EU work in part-time, almost a third of women across the EU (31.3 %) does so.

The reasons for the gender pay gap go beyond the simple issue of discrimination. They are a consequence
of various inequalities women face in access to work, progression and rewards.

• Sectoral segregation: Around 30% of the total gender pay gap is explained by the overrepresentation of
women in relatively low-paying sectors, such as care and education. On the other hand, the proportion of
male employees is very high (over 80%) in better-paid sectors, such as science, technology, engineering and
mathematics (STEM).

• Work-Life Balance: Women spend fewer hours in paid work than men on average but more hours in
unpaid work. In total, women have more work hours per week than men, what might affect their career
choices.

• The glass ceiling: The position in the hierarchy influences the level of pay: less than 10% of top compa-
nies’ CEOs are women. The profession with the largest differences in hourly earnings in the EU were man-
agers: 23 % lower earnings for women than for men.

• Discrimination: In some cases, women earn less than men for doing jobs of equal value. However, the
principle of equal pay for work of equal value is enshrined in the European Treaties (article 157 TFEU) since
1957.

1 https://ec.europa.eu/info/policies/justice-and-fundamental-rights/gender-equality/equal-economic-independence_en