Skip links
EU pay gap
Gender pay gap in European Union

European women earn 14% less than men

Women in the European Union earn on average 14.1% less than their male colleagues, according to statistics from EU’s statistical office Eurostat.

”There are imbalances in the earnings of women and men. One way of measuring this imbalance is through the gender pay gap, which shows the difference between the average gross hourly earnings of men and women expressed as a percentage of the average gross hourly earnings of men. It is calculated for enterprises with 10 or more employees.”

In 2019, women’s gross hourly earnings were on average 14.1% below those of men in the EU. This varied among the EU Member States, with the highest differences observed in:

  • Estonia 21.7%
  • Latvia 21.2%
  • Austria 19.9% and
  • Germany 19.2%

On the other end of the scale, the differences were smallest in:

  • Luxembourg 1.3%
  • Romania 3.3%
  • Italy 4.7% and
  • Belgium 5.8%

Gender pay gap higher in the private sector

In 2019, the majority of the EU countries (for which data are available) recorded a higher gender pay gap (in absolute terms) in the private sector than in the public sector. This might be due to the fact that, in most countries, pay is determined by transparent wage grids that apply equally to men and women. The gender pay gap varied in the private sector from 8.9 % in Belgium to 22.9 % in Germany, and in the public sector from -0.4 % in Romania to 19.7 % in Latvia.

Highest gender pay gap in financial and insurance activities

The gender pay gap in financial and insurance activities is higher than in the business economy as a whole. A breakdown for the different sectors of the economy also reveals interesting patterns. In all EU Member States, except Belgium and Spain, the gender pay gap in the financial and insurance activities is higher than in the business economy as a whole. In 2019, the gender pay gap in financial and insurance activities varied from 6.6 % in Belgium to 38.3 % in Czechia. Within the business economy as a whole, the highest gender pay gap was recorded in Estonia (23.2 %) and the lowest in Sweden (8.7 %).

 

 

gender pay gap stats

Moonshot News is an independent European news website for all IT, Media and Advertising professionals, powered by women and with a focus on driving the narrative for diversity, inclusion and gender equality in the industry.

Our mission is to provide top and unbiased information for all professionals and to make sure that women get their fair share of voice in the news and in the spotlight!

We produce original content, news articles, a curated calendar of industry events and a database of women IT, Media and Advertising associations.

    Do you want an experienced opinion on a job issue?
    Moonshot Manager is here to answer!

      Moonshot community sharing thoughts and ideas, in a anonymous, safe environment.