How much do women earn compared to men across Europe?

Multiple indicators highlight persistent economic disparities between women and men, with the data making these inequalities undeniably clear. Despite having the highest gender parity among all regions in the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2023, Europe is no exception to these challenges.

In 2023, women in the EU earned 12% less than men according to Eurostat. This means women made only €88 for every €100 earned by men. 

The gender pay gap in the EU was 16% in 2013, four percentage points higher than in 2023.

The unadjusted gender pay gap is a useful indicator. It is “the difference between the average gross hourly earnings of men and women expressed as a percentage of the average gross hourly earnings of men”. This calculation includes enterprises with 10 or more employees.

In 2023, the unadjusted gender pay gap ranged from -0.7% in Luxembourg to 19% in Latvia. 

A negative rate indicates that women, on average, earned more than men.

Displaying amounts instead of percentages might make it easier to understand how much women earn for every €100 men make. 

In 2023, women in Latvia earned just €81 for every €100 earned by men, followed by Austria (€82) and Czechia (€82). 

These disparities become even more significant when viewed in terms of monthly salaries. For example, if we assume an average salary of €2,000 in Austria, women would earn €360 less than men each month.

Luxembourg was the only country where women (€101) earned more than men (€100).

The pay gap was also less than €5 in Belgium, Italy, and Romania, making them the best countries for women after Luxembourg. 

Among Europe’s top five economies, the gender pay gap remains significant, except in Italy. Germany ranked fifth among 31 countries, with women