Analytics, EU – Baltic States, Financial Services, Labour-market, Wages

Differences between females and males in the labour market do not only concern wage discrepancies but also and along with it, the type of occupations held. Though representing 46% of employed persons, women were under-represented amongst managers, with only a third being female in 2013 in the EU.

On the contrary, women were over-represented among clerical support workers as well as among service and sales workers, accounting for around two-thirds of employed persons in these occupations.

In 2013 in the EU Member States, the gender pay gap was less than 10% in Slovenia (3.2%), Malta (5.1%), Poland (6.4%), Italy (7.3%), Croatia (7.4%), Luxembourg (8.6%), Romania (9.1%) and Belgium (9.8%). At the opposite end of the scale, the gender pay gap was over 20% in Estonia (29.9%), Austria (23.0%), the Czech Republic (22.1%) and Germany (21.6%).

Compared with 2008, the gender pay gap has dropped in 2013 in a majority of EU Member States. The most noticeable decreases between 2008 and 2013 were recorded in Lithuania (from 21.6% in 2008 to 13.3% in 2013, or –8.3%age points), Poland (-5.0 pp), the Czech Republic and Malta (both –4.1 pp) and Cyprus (-3.7 pp).

In contrast, the gender pay gap has risen between 2008 and 2013 in nine Member States, with the most significant increases being observed in Portugal (from 9.2% in 2008 to 13.0% in 2013, or + 3.8%age points), Spain (+3.2 pp), Latvia (+2.6 pp), Italy (+2.4 pp) and Estonia (+2.3 pp). At EU level, the gender pay gap has decreased slightly, from 17.3% in 2008 to 16.4% in 2013.