- Data up to February 2018. Most recent data: Further Eurostat information, Main tables and Database. Planned article update: February 2019.
This article presents gender statistics for the European Union (EU), a selection of indicators from fields such as education, labour market, earnings and health, which are particularly important for measuring differences in the situation of women and men (i.e. gender gaps). Gender statistics constitute an area that cuts across traditional fields of statistics to identify, produce and disseminate data reflecting the realities of the lives of women and men, and policy issues relating to gender equality (Developing Gender Statistics: A Practical Tool, UNECE, 2010).
The indicators show gender gaps, together with levels achieved for the population as a whole, at EU level and across Member States (e.g. the gender employment gap with the employment rate). This approach shows gender gaps in access to resources and opportunities in the broader context of the actual resources and opportunities available. The article includes links to other articles and publications that provide more detailed analysis of gender gaps.
- 1 Main statistical findings
- 2 Data sources and availability
- 3 Context
- 4 See also
- 5 Further Eurostat information
- 6 External links
- 7 Notes
Main statistical findings
One of the prominent indicators in education statistics is the proportion of persons who have attained tertiary education (i.e. who graduated from universities or other higher education institutions). This indicator belongs to the set of headline indicators used to monitor the Europe 2020 strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. In particular, one of EU-level headline targets of the strategy is to increase, by 2020, the share of the population aged 30–34 having completed tertiary education to at least 40% .
From the ‘tertiary education attainment’ indicator, we derive a gender gap defined as the proportion of men aged 30-34 that have attained tertiary education minus that of women. In 2016, this gender gap was -9.5 percentage points (p.p.) in the EU-28, meaning that the proportion of women aged 30-34 that had attained tertiary education exceeded that for men by 9.5 p.p. (see Figure 1). All Member States, except Germany, recorded a negative gender gap in tertiary education attainment. In 2016, that gap ranged from 0.4 p.p. in Germany (the smallest gender gap in absolute value), -3.5 p.p. in Romania, -3.7 p.p. in Austria, -3.8 p.p in Luxembourg and -4.3 p.p. in the United Kingdom to -20.7 p.p in Lithuania, -21.7 p.p. in Slovenia and -26.0 p.p. in Latvia (the largest gender gap in absolute value).
For the population as a whole, the proportion of persons aged 30-34 that had attained tertiary education in 2016 ranged from 25.6 % in Romania to 58.7 % in Lithuania. Among EU Member States with the largest gender gap in absolute value (above 20 p.p.), the proportion of persons with tertiary education was 42.8 % in Latvia, 44.2 % in Slovenia and 58.7 % in Lithuania, above the EU-28 average of 39.1 % in 2016. Among the countries with the smallest gender gap in absolute value (below 5 p.p.), the proportion of persons aged 30-34 with tertiary education in Romania (25.6 %), Germany (33.2 %) was below the EU-28 average, whereas it was higher in Austria (40.1 %), the United Kingdom (48.2 %) and Luxembourg (54.6 %).
For a better view of gender issues in the field of education, it is useful to take other indicators into account: upper secondary education attainment, lower secondary education, tertiary education graduates (women per 100 men), early leavers from education and training, as well as life-long-learning (see articles in Statistics Explained in the category Education and training.)
The employment rate is considered to be a key social indicator for analytical purposes when studying developments in labour markets. It is one of headline indicators used to monitor the Europe 2020 strategy. One of EU-level headline targets of the strategy is to raise to 75% the employment rate for women and men (aged 20–64) by 2020.
The gender gap analysed here is defined as the difference between the employment rates of men and women of working age (20-64). Across the EU-28, the gender employment gap was 11.6 p.p. in 2016, meaning that the proportion of men of working age in employment exceeded that of women by 11.6 p.p. (see Figure 2).
The gender employment gap varies significantly across Member States. In 2016 the lowest gap was reported in Lithuania (1.9 p.p.), followed by Latvia (2.9 p.p.), Finland (3.3 p.p.) and Sweden, (3.8 p.p.). These four were the only EU Member States with a gender employment gap not exceeding 5 p.p. At the other end of the scale, five Member States recorded a gap above 15 p.p., namely the Czech Republic (16.0 p.p.), Romania (17.6 p.p.), Greece (19.0 p.p.), Italy (20.1 p.p.) and Malta (27.7 p.p.). This is due to the lower participation of women in the labour markets in these countries.
For the population as a whole, the employment rate for persons aged 20-64 in 2016 ranged from 56.2 % to 81.2 %. Among EU Member States with the smallest gender employment gaps (below 5 p.p.), the employment rate was above the EU-28 average rate of 71.1 %. Among the countries with the largest gender employment gaps, above 15 p.p., the employment rate in Greece (56.2 %), Italy (61.6 %), Romania (66.3 %) and Malta (69.6 %) was below the EU average, whereas it was higher in the Czech Republic (76.7 %).
For a better view of the gender issues in the field of employment, it is useful to analyse the following indicators: employment rate by highest level of education attained, employment by economic activity, self-employment, part-time employment, temporary employees, as well as unemployment and long-term unemployment (see articles in Statistics Explained in the category Labour market.)
The ‘unadjusted’ gender pay gap provides an overall picture of gender inequality in hourly pay. This gap represents the difference between the average gross hourly earnings of men and women expressed as a percentage of average gross hourly earnings of men. It is called ‘unadjusted’ as it does not take into account all of the factors that influence the gender pay gap, such as differences in education, labour market experience or type of job.
Across the EU, women earn less per hour than men do overall. In 2014, over the EU-28 as a whole, women’s gross hourly earnings were, on average, 16.6 % below those of men (see Figure 3). 2016 data are available in the following article Gender pay gap statistics.
The gender pay gap varied significantly across Member States. In 2014, the gender pay gap ranged from 4.5 % in Romania, 5.4 % in Luxembourg 6.1 % in Italy, 6.6 % in Belgium, 7.0 % in Slovenia and 7.7 % Poland, 8.7 % in Croatia to 20.9% in the United Kingdom, 22.2 % in Austria, 22.3 % in Germany, 22.5 % in the Czech Republic and 28.1% in Estonia .
Across Member States, employees’ average gross hourly earnings in 2014, expressed in purchasing power standards (PPS), varied from 32 % to 130 % of the EU-28 average. Among the countries with the smallest gender pay gap (below 10 %), earnings varied from 35 % of the EU-28 average in Romania to 125 % in Luxembourg. The countries with the largest gender pay gap (above 20 %) recorded earnings ranging from 50 % of the EU-28 average in Estonia to 115 % in Germany.
Besides the gender pay gap, based on hourly earnings, the difference between the average annual earnings of women versus men is also influenced by the higher proportion of part-time employees among women. This is shown by the ‘gender hours gap’ which represents the difference between average monthly hours paid to men and women expressed as a percentage of average hours paid to men.
In October 2014, across the EU, women were paid on average 14 % fewer hours than men per month (see Figure 4). The number of hours paid to men is broadly similar across EU countries, whereas part-time arrangements for women differ substantially. For the Netherlands, the gender hours gap stands out, at 28 %, meaning that female employees work are paid on average 28 % fewer hours per month than men. At the other end of the scale, Bulgaria, Latvia and Romania recorded a gender gap that was 1 %.
Besides the gender pay gap and the gender hours gap, it is also useful to consider gender gaps in employment, as these also contribute to the difference in average earnings of women versus men. To give a complete picture of the gender earnings gap, a new synthetic indicator has been developed. This measures the impact of the three combined factors, namely: (1) the average hourly earnings, (2) the monthly average of the number of hours paid (before any adjustment for part-time work) and (3) the employment rate, on the average earnings of all women of working age — whether employed or not employed — compared to men.
In 2014, the gender overall earnings gap was 39.6 % in the EU-28 (see Table 1). Across Member States, the gender overall earnings gap varied significantly, from 19.2 % in Lithuania, to 47.5 % in the Netherlands (see Figure 5). Table 2 shows contributions to the gender overall earnings gap. At the EU level, the gender pay gap, the gender employment gap and the gender hour's gap contributed 37.4 %, 30.4 % and 32.2 %, respectively, to the gender overall earnings gap.
For a better view of gender issues concerning earnings, it is also useful to look at: The mean annual earnings by economic activity and the gender pay gap by economic activity and age (see articles in Statistics Explained in the category Wages, earnings and income).
Life expectancy at birth is one of the most frequently used indicators to measure the health status of a population. From the ‘life expectancy’ indicator, we can derive the gender gap in life expectancy at birth. This is defined as the number of years that men can expect to live (at birth) minus the number of years that women can expect to live. In 2015, the gender gap in life expectancy at birth was -5.4 in the EU-28 (see Figure 6), meaning that life expectancy at birth was 5.4 years higher for women than for men. In 2015, life expectancy at birth was higher for women than for men in all Member States, with the negative gender gap ranging from -3.3 years in the Netherlands, -3.6 years in the United Kingdom, -3.7 years in Sweden, -3.8 years in Cyprus and Ireland and -3.9 in Denmark to -9.0 years in Estonia, -9.8 years in Latvia and -10.5 in Lithuania.
As regards the population as a whole, life expectancy at birth varied between 74.6 and 83.0 years across Member States. Among the countries with the largest gender gap in absolute terms (9 p.p. or higher), life expectancy for the total population was 74.6 years in Lithuania, 74.8 in Latvia and 78.0 in Estonia, much lower than the EU-28 average of 80.6 years in 2015. Among the countries with the lowest gender gap in absolute terms (i.e. 4 years or below), life expectancy at birth for the total population was generally higher than the EU-28 average — namely 80.8 years in Denmark, 81.0 in the United Kingdom, 81.5 in Ireland, 81.6 in the Netherlands, 81.8 in Cyprus 82.2 in Sweden.
For a better view of gender issues concerning health, it is also useful to look at: Life expectancy by highest level of education attained, causes of death and hospital discharges by diagnosis, as well as healthy life years expectancy and lifestyle characteristics, e.g. smoking (see articles in Statistics Explained in the category Health).
Data sources and availability
Eurostat produces and disseminates a number of the datasets that show how men and women compare in areas such as education, labour market, earnings, social inclusion and health in the EU. The most relevant and most frequently used datasets are listed in the ‘Equality’ domain. For more information on data sources and availability, see the metadata files linked to the multidimensional tables or in other relevant articles.
Gender overall earnings gap
where GOEG means Gender overall earnings gap, Em — Mean hourly earnings of men, Hm — Mean monthly hours paid to men, ERm — Employment rate of men (aged 15-64), Ew — Mean hourly earnings of women, Hw — Mean monthly hours paid to women and ERw — Employment rate of women (aged 15-64).
Gender statistics are indispensable for identifying inequalities between women and men, and needed for the purposes of gender policy development and implementation at global, European and national levels. Four world conferences on women convened by the United Nations between 1975 and 1995 have been crucial in putting the cause of gender equality at the very centre of the global agenda. In 1995, the Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing adopted the Declaration and Platform for Action.
This specified critical areas of concern considered to represent the main obstacles to women’s advancement, requiring concrete action by governments and civil society. These areas are as follows: women and poverty, education and training of women, women and health, violence against women, women and armed conflict, women and the economy, women in power and decision-making, institutional mechanisms for the advancement of women, human rights of women, women and the media, women and the environment and the girl-child.
Equality between women and men is a founding value of the EU (Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union) as well as a fundamental right (Article 23 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union). Following the 1995 conference in Beijing, the European Council requested an annual review of how EU Member States were implementing the Beijing Platform for Action. To track progress, each EU Council Presidency produces a report that covers developments in a specific critical area. Successive EU Council Presidencies have developed a set of indicators — called the Beijing indicators — covering most of the critical areas of the Beijing Platform for Action.
In March 2010, on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the Beijing conference, the European Commission adopted the Women’s Charter. In this charter, the European Commission reiterated its ‘commitment to making equality between women and men a reality’ by strengthening the gender perspective in all its policies and by bringing forward specific measures to promote gender equality.
In December 2015, the European Commission adopted the Strategic engagement for gender equality 2016-2019. In this work programme, the Commission has reaffirmed its commitment to continue its work to promote equality between men and women. This means maintaining the focus of gender-equality policy on the five existing thematic priority areas:
- increasing female labour-market participation and the equal economic independence of women and men,
- reducing the gender pay, earnings and pension gaps and thus fighting poverty among women,
- promoting equality between women and men in decision-making,
- combating gender-based violence and protecting and supporting victims,
- promoting gender equality and women’s rights across the world.
The Commission's work programme includes a comprehensive list of indicators measuring gender equality (e.g. employment rate, gender pay gap, at-risk-of-poverty and social inclusion rate). It supports the implementation of the gender equality dimension in the Europe 2020 strategy and its headline targets.
The EU and its Member States are supported by the European Institute for Gender Equality in their efforts to promote gender equality and to raise awareness about gender equality issues. The Institute supports EU Presidencies in developing the Beijing indicators. It also developed the Gender Equality Index, which provides a synthetic measure of gender equality in EU Member States.
- Employment statistics
- Europe 2020 headline indicators
- Gender pay gap statistics
- Mortality and life expectancy statistics
- People at risk of poverty or social exclusion
- Gender equality
- Tertiary education statistics
Further Eurostat information
- The life of women and men in Europe - A statistical portrait
- European social statistics, 2013 edition
Methodology / Metadata
Source data for tables, figures and maps (MS Excel)
- European Commission - DG Justice and Consumers- Gender equality
- European Commission - Europe 2020 - Key areas: comparing Member States' performances
- OECD - Gender Data Portal
- UN - Minimum set of gender indicators
- UNECE - Gender statistics
- The EU-level targets have been translated into national targets in each EU country, reflecting different situations and circumstances
- The GPG and ERG show a negative relationship. One possible explanation is the following: in countries where the employment rate for women is particular low, women who still chose to work may decide so due to their higher job profile and earnings expectations. This translates into a lower (unadjusted) gender pay gap as the latter compares the average hourly earnings of all working men against all working women without correcting for the fact that working women tend to have a specific profile.