Where does the European Union (EU) stand on equal pay for men and women 30 years after the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing? At this major gathering in 1995, countries pledged to guarantee “equal pay for equal work”. Yet, with just five years before the Agenda 2030 deadline, none of the indicators for SDG No. 5 on gender equality have been achieved.
On average, women in the EU earn 12% less than men
According to Eurostat, women in the EU earn 12% less than their male colleagues in terms of gross hourly wages in 2023. Progress in the EU has been steady: the gender pay gap was still as high as 13,7% in 2019. The United Nations estimate that globally, the pay gap stands at 23%, with women earning only 77% of men’s salaries for equal work.
In France, according to Eurostat, women earned 12.2% less than men in 2022 in terms of hourly wage rates, compared with 12.5% in the Netherlands.
The most significant inequalities in terms of gross hourly pay in the EU are recorded in Austria (18.3%), the Czech Republic (18%), Hungary (17,8%) and Germany (17.6%).
Belgium is among the countries with the smallest gaps
By contrast, the smallest gaps within the EU are found in Romania (3.8%), Italy (2.2%), Belgium (0.7%) and Luxembourg (-0.9%). The Belgian statistics office Statbel, points out that this difference between men and women in Belgium was still 7.5% in 2013, and stresses that the gap varies significantly according to generation.
It is negative for the under-25s, with women being paid 0.2% more than men in this age bracket (2022). “The gap then increases sharply with age, up to 4.4% for 35–44 year-olds and even 8.5% for 55-64 year-olds”, says Statbel.
In Italy, a small gap in hourly wages, not reflected in monthly salaries
Italy, for its part, stands out from other southern European countries, with a low gross hourly wage differential (2.2%), compared with 13.6% in Greece, 9.2% in Spain and 8.6% in Portugal, according to Eurostat.
Contacted by UNRIC, Gianni Rosas, Director of the Office of the International Labor Organization (ILO) for Italy and San Marino, explains that the UN estimates of the gender wage gap, calculated by the ILO, show an overall 6,2% gap in respect of the hourly rate in favour of men in Italy. “When monthly wages are taken into account, the gender pay gap among adult workers calculated by the Italian National Statistical Institute stood at 16.7% in 2020”. This sheds light on a reality that partly reflects the greater use of part-time work among women, half of which is unvoluntary, as well as a number of additional wage benefits that favor men to women, particularly in respect of workers with family responsibilities.
Beyond national average, gender pay gaps vary widely according to sectors, occupations and personal characteristics. “The study we are currently completing for Italy shows, for example, that in the hotel and catering sector, the monthly gender pay gap is as high as almost 24%, peaking at 37% for the low-skilled workers. The gap also varies according to personal characteristics such as age and national origin. For example, migrant women are doubly penalized: on the basis of their national origin – the wage gap between migrant and national workers is almost 30% – and their gender – on average, migrant women earn 12% less than their male counterpart”.
Luxembourg, the only EU country to achieve parity
The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg is the only EU country to have achieved pay parity, with a gap of -0.9% in favour of women in 2023, according to Eurostat. Progress has been rapid: the gap was still 10.7% in favour of men in 2006, then 1.4% in 2018.
However, official statistics from Luxembourg (STATEC) qualify this success: “The gap is still tilted in favor of men when annual earnings are taken into account, given that a small percentage of men earn very high salaries and bonuses, and that women work more part-time”.
Similarly, in its recent review of Luxembourg on February 7, 2025, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) welcomed the end of the wage gap. Still, it noted that poverty persists among working women.
One expert pointed out that, despite having the highest GDP per capita in the EU, Luxembourg has a poverty rate of 13.5% among working women, mainly affecting single-parent families. Nearly one woman in three (30.9%) works part-time, compared with 7.1% for men: this disproportion, as well as the fact that the number of years worked is lower than for men due to maternity, ultimately affects pension levels.
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