EN    EN EN 
 
EN    EN  COMMISSION OF THE E UROPEAN COMMUNITIES 
Brussels, 27.2.2009 
SEC(2009) 165  
  
COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT 
 
accompanying document to the  
REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO  THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE 
COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC  AND SOCIAL CO MMITTEE AND THE 
COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS 
 
Equality between women and men — 2009 
 
{COM(2009) 77 final}
 
EN 2   EN STATISTICAL ANNEX TO THE ANNUAL  REPORT ON EQUALITY BETWEEN 
WOMEN AND MEN 2009 
This statistical annex provides an overview of the situation of women and men in the EU (for 
the last year available and also  compared to the past) and re maining gender gaps in various 
fields such as the labour market, education an d work-life balance. Mo st of these indicators 
have already been presented in previous reports , to aid follow-up from one year to another.  
Employment and unemployment rates 
Over the last few years, female employment has increased regularly, at a rate that was 
consistently higher than for men. The female em ployment rate, at 58.3% in 2007, is very close 
to the 2010 Lisbon objective of 60%. It rose by  almost 4 percentage points (p.p.) between 
2002 and 2007, from 54.4% to 58.3%, whereas over the same period the employment rate of 
men increased by only 2.2 p.p., from 70.3% to 7 2.5%. As a result, the gap between women’s 
and men’s employment rates decrease d from 15.9 p.p. in 2002 to 14.2 p.p. in 2007. At 
national level, significant differences exist across the EU: in three Member States (Malta, Italy and Greece) less than half of working- age women are in employment, whereas this 
proportion is above 70% in Denmark (73.2%) and Sweden (71.8%). The employment rate gap between women and men ranged from less than 5 p.p. in Finland and Sweden to more than 25 
p.p. in Greece and Malta. In general, the employm ent rate gap increases with age and is the 
highest amongst older workers (55 to 64 ye ars). In 2007, it was on average 17.9 p.p., down 
from 19.3 p.p. in 2002 due to the strong increase of  the employment rate of women over 55, 
from 29.1% in 2002 to 36% in 2007. Unemploymen t rates of women ha ve therefore fallen 
from 9.7% in 2002 to 7.8% and the gap between  women’s and men’s unemployment rates is 
close to 1 p.p. This gap has been decreasing, esp ecially in countries where it was the highest 
five years earlier (Spain, Ital y, Greece, Malta and France), qu ite independently from their 
relative cyclical positions. By contrast, the ga p has increased by at le ast 1.5 percentage points 
in Latvia, Bulgaria and Slovakia.  
Part-time work 
The increased participation of women in the la bour market is largel y characterised by a high 
proportion of part-time work. In 2007, the percen tage of women employ ees working part-time 
was 31.2% in the EU-27 while the corresponding figure for men was 7.7%. The share of female part-timers exceeded 30% in France, Ireland, Denmark and Luxembourg and 40% in Sweden, Belgium, Austria, United Kingdom and Germany and even reached 75% in the 
Netherlands. In those countries part-time wo rk is more gender-balanced in Denmark and 
Sweden than in Austria, Germany, Belgium or  Luxembourg. The share of part-timers among 
female workers (as among male workers) was very low in Bulgaria, Slovakia and Hungary.  
Work-life balance, childcare services and sharing of domestic and family work 
Parenthood has a significant long-t erm effect on women’s partic ipation in the labour market. 
This reflects women’s predominant role in the ca re of children, elderly or  disabled persons. In 
2007, the employment rate for women aged 25-49 was 65.5% when they had children under 12, compared with 77.9% when they did not, a negative difference of 12.4 p.p. Interestingly, 
men with children under 12 had a significantly higher  employment rate than those without, 
91.7% compared with 84.4%, a positive differe nce of 7.3 p.p. In Germany, United Kingdom, 
Estonia, Malta and Ireland, the negative im pact of parenthood on female employment is 
higher than 15 p.p. and higher than 20 p.p. in Slovakia, Hungary and Czech Republic.  
 
EN 3   EN An important factor impacting on the parents’ (and especially  the mother’s) opportunity to 
participate in the labour market is the availabili ty of childcare services for children under 3. In 
2006, only five Member States (DK, NL, SE, BE, ES) had exceeded the Barcelona objective 
of a 33% coverage rate, while fi ve others (PT, UK, FR, LU, SI) were approaching this target. 
In most of the other countries, much still n eeds to be done to meet the demand for childcare 
facilities, especially in eight Member States (EL, HU, MT, SK, LT, AT, CZ, PL) that showed 
a coverage rate of 10% or less. In addition, a ttendance hours vary widely from one country to 
another, and in numerous countries a part icularly high proportion of childcare facilities 
operate on a part-time basis only.  
Gender distribution of time devoted to paid work vs  unpaid domestic and family work is a 
crucial indicator of gender equa lity in a society. It appears that working women are still 
spending, on average, more time than working men in domestic and family work in all 
Member States while the opposite is true for pa id employment. In addition, it appears that 
working women have on average more ‘constraine d time’ (sum of hours spent in paid work 
and in unpaid domestic and family work) than  working men. Countries displaying the more 
balanced distribution of hours spent in domestic  and family work are Sweden, Denmark and 
Finland (with a difference of around 10 hours per week) while in Italy and Cyprus, this 
difference is higher than 23 hours per week. Both  gender differences (in paid employment and 
in unpaid domestic and family work) would ha ve been even more pronounced if the survey 
used (Fourth European Working conditions survey) had included non-working persons.  
At-risk-of-poverty rate for older people 
The disadvantaged position of women on the labour market increases the risk that they will be 
exposed to poverty. This was pa rticularly true for those ag ed over 65, amongst whom the 
proportion living in households at risk of poverty (i.e. having an  income below the threshold 
set at 60% of the national median income) was significantly higher for women than for men in 
EU-25 in 2006 (21% compared with 16%). This was a pattern in almost all Member States. 
The gap exceeds 10 p.p. in five countries: Slove nia, Bulgaria, Estonia,  Lithuania and Latvia 
but is zero in Luxembourg and Portugal, a nd negative in the Netherlands and Malta.  
Education, fields of study and gend er segregation of the labour market 
While the average educational attainment of women and men is now similar over the entire 
working-age class, young women ( 20-24) record a higher educatio nal attainment than men in 
all Member States. On average, 80.8% of young women (20-24) reached at least upper 
secondary school in the EU in 2007, agains t only 75.4% of young men. Furthermore, women 
represent as much as 59% of university gradua tes. However, study fi elds continue to be 
greatly segmented with a low presence of wo men in computing, engineering and physics. 
Women represent around 60% of tertiary gradua tes in law and in business and administration 
and are highly over-represented in the following  fields of study: jour nalism and information; 
humanities; health and welfare; education science.  
The choice of study fields cert ainly impacts on the gender segreg ation of the labour market, as 
regards both occupations and economic sectors.  Estonia, Slovakia, Latvia, Finland, and 
Bulgaria face high segregation in occupations, whilst segregation in sectors is highest in 
Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Ireland, Slovakia and Finland. C onsequently there is an under-
representation of women in some private se ctors that are crucial for economic growth. 
Moreover, it is expected that in the medium run, skill and labour shortages will affect mixed 
 
EN 4   EN occupations less than male- or female-dominated occupations, which adds to the need for a 
more balanced distribution of occupations.  
Gender pay gap 
As a result of all above mentioned gender in equalities on the labour market, there is a 
persisting gender pay gap in the EU. The gender pay gap (defined as the difference between 
men’s and women’s average gross hourly earnings  as a percentage of men’s average gross 
hourly earnings) is estimated in  2007 at 17.4% on average in th e EU. It exceeds 25% in two 
countries (EE and AT) and 20% in seven countries (SK, NL, CZ, CY, DE, UK and EL). However, it is below 10% in IT, MT, PL, SI and BE.  
Following the communication adopted by the Commission in 2007
1, Eurostat, in collaboration 
with Member States, improved the methodology us ed to calculate the gender pay gap in the 
EU. Instead of a mix of va rious national sources, it is now an EU harmonised source 
(Structure of Earnings Survey) which is used, with the support of comparable national sources 
for the yearly estimates. It is  to be noted that the apparent  increase (from 15% in 2004, 2005 
and 2006 with the old methodology to 17.4% in 2007 with the new one) does not correspond to a real increase of the indicator and is  the result of the change in methodology.  
Decision-making 
The average number of female  members of national parliame nts (single/lower houses) was 
24% in 2008, one p.p. higher than in 2004. The perc entage is above 35% in Spain, Belgium, 
Denmark and the Netherlands and above 40% in Finland and Sweden. Ho wever, it was below 
15% in Ireland, Slovenia and Hungary and di d not exceed 10% in Malta and Romania.  
Among senior ministers of national governments (i.e . ministers with a seat in the cabinet), the 
share of women increased quite substantially from 22% in 2005 to 26% in 2008. Moreover, the increase was higher than 10  p.p. in Poland, Finland and It aly and higher than 15 p.p. in 
France and Belgium.  
In the economic field, women represent on averag e almost one-third of leaders of businesses 
in the EU, but in most countries the share is lower than that. It is below 25% in Luxembourg, 
Ireland, Finland, Malta and Cyprus but above 35% in Spain, Italy, Poland and France.  
As regards female membership of the boards (‘highest decision-making body’) of the largest 
publicly quoted companies, the situation is ma rkedly different. Women represent on average 
only 11% of these board members at EU level.  The percentage only ex ceeds 20% in Finland 
and Sweden; it is below 5% in Malta, It aly, Cyprus, Luxembourg and Portugal.  
                                                
 
1 COM(2007)424 final - "Tackling the pay gap between women and men" 
 
EN 5   EN Employment rates (women and men aged 15 - 64) in EU Member States- 2007
58,372,5
0102030405060708090
DK SE NL FI EE UK AT LV DE SI CY LT PT IE FR EU27 BG CZ BE LU ES SK RO HU PL EL IT MTpercentWomen Men
Source:  Eurostat, Labour Force Survey (LFS), annual averages. Lisbon target 
for  total employment 
rate in 2010
Lisbon target 
for women's 
employment 
rate in 2010
 
15.9
14.2
051015202530354045
FI SE LT EE DK LV BG FR SI DE PT RO UK NL PL HU BE AT EU27 SK LU IE CZ CY ES IT EL MTpercentage pointsLeft bar: 2002     Right bar: 2007Absolute gender gap in employment rates (women an d men aged 15-64) in EU Member States - 2002 and 2007
 (Difference between men's and women's employment rates) 
Source:  Eurostat, Labour Force Survey (LFS), annual averages. 
NB: A positive gap indicates higher employment rates for men in comparison with women, while the opposite is true for a negative ga p.
 
 
EN 6   EN Employment rates of older workers (women and men aged 55 - 64) in EU Member States- 2007
3653.9
01020304050607080
SE EE FI DK LV UK LT PT DE CY NL IE FR BG RO CZ ES LU AT EL HU BE IT SI SK PL MTpercentWomen Men
Source:  Eurostat, Labour Force Survey (LFS), annual averages.Lisbon target 
for  55-64 
aged workers 
employment rate in 2010
EU 
27
 
1.41.2
-4-20246810
SE DK FI BG NL FR AT EU27 CY PL LU BE MT SI CZ SK IT PT ES ELpercentage pointsLeft bar: 2002      Right bar: 2007Absolute gender gap in unemployment rates (women and men aged 15 years and over) in EU 
Member States - 2002 and 2007
 (Difference between women's and men's unemployment rates) 
Source:  Eurostat, Labour Force Survey (LFS), annual averages. 
Notes : A positive gap indicates higher unemployment rates for women in comparison with men, while the opposite is true for a n egative gap.                                 RO UK LV DE EE IE LT H U
 
 
EN 7   EN Share of part-time workers in total employment (persons aged 15 and over) 
in EU Member States - 2007
31.2
7.7
01020304050607080
BG SK HU LV CZ EL LT RO CY SI EE PL PT FI ES MT IT FR EU27 IE DK LU SE BE AT UK DE NLpercentWomen Men
Source:  Eurostat, Labour Force Survey (LFS), annual averages
 IE : Provisional figures. 
 
Employment impact of parenthood for women and men (aged 25-49) in 2007 
difference in percentage points in employment rates with presence of a child under 12 and without the 
presence of any children 
-35-30-25-20-15-10-5051015
CZ HU SK IE MT EE UK DE A T LU EU
27LV FI BG ES PL FR IT EL NL RO LT BE CY PT SIpercentage pointsmen women
Source: Eurostat, Labour Force Survey (LFS), Annual average.
Notes : no data available for DK and SE.   
 
EN 8   EN  Proportion of children up to 3 years cared for by formal arrangements in 2006
 up to 30 hours / 30 hours or more per usual week 
01020304050607080
DK NL SE BE ES PT UK FR LU SI FI IT EU-
25CY EE DE IE LV EL HU MT SK LT AT PL CZ%
30 hours and more less than 30 hours
Source: Eurostat, EU-SILC 2006. Provisional data for BE, DE, EL, FR, IE, LT, LU, LV, MT, NL, PL, PT, SE, SK and UK. BG and Ro :  no data available for
2006. “Formal arrangements” means EU-SILC reply categories 1 to 4 (pre-school or equivalent, compulsory education, centre-based  services 
outside school hours, a collective crèche or another day-care centre, including family day-care, professional certified childmi nders). 
 
Difference between working women's  and men's  average time s pent  in domes tic and family work 
and in paid employment, in 2005 (by week)
-15-10-5051015202530
SE FI DK LT LV BE EE DE MT CZ A T PT HU BG EU27 FR UK SK ES IE PL RO LU SI EL NL IT CYhoursDifference in hours spent in domestic and family work Difference in hours spent in paid employment (incl.commuting)
Source: Fourth EWCS, 2005. A positive value indicates that more time is spent on average by w omen than by men (for the related activity), w hile the opposite is 
true for a negative value. It has to be noted that the sample used only includes people w ho w ere in paid employment in the refe rence w eek of the survey. Due to 
this limitation, caution should be exercised in interpreting the differences betw een w omen and men's average time spent for bot h paid employment and unpaid 
domestic and family w ork. For instance, as regards paid employment, gender differences mainly reflect different patterns in the  gender distribution of part-time 
among EU Member States and not in the gender distribution of participation in employment in general. If all w orking age persons  w ere included (and not only those
in paid employment) one w ould expect that both differences in time-use betw een w omen and men w ould be more pronounced. 
 
EN 9   EN  
Educational attainment (at least upper secondary school) of women and men aged 20 - 24, 
in EU Member States - 2007
80.8
75.4
0102030405060708090100
SI PL CZ SK LT CY IE EE SE FI EL HU AT FR BE LV BG EU27 NL IT UK DK RO LU DE ES PT MTpercentwomen men
Source : Eurostat, Labour Force Survey (LFS), annual averages.
NB: DK :  Break in series 
Students living abroad for one year or more and conscripts on compulsory military service are not covered by the EU Labour Forc e Survey, 
which may imply lower rates than those available at national level. This is especially relevant for CY.
 
Sex distribution of tertiary education graduates by field of study and in total, in EU-27, 2006 
0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%
Women Men
Source  : Eurostat - Tertiary education graduates include all graduates of levels ISCED 5 and 6.  
 
EN 10   EN Gender segregation in occupations in EU Member States, in 2007
0.05.010.015.020.025.030.035.0
EL RO MT IT NL UK BE DK PL A T SI DE PT FR SE LU ES IE CZ HU CY LT BG FI LV SK EE
Source:  Eurostat - LFS, Spring data.  Gender segregation in occupations is calculated as the average national share of employment for wo m e n  
and men applied to each occupation; differences are added up to produce the total amount of gender imbalance expressed as a pro portion of 
total em ploym ent (I SCO classification).
 
Gender segregation in economic sectors in EU Member States, in 2007
0.05.010.015.020.025.0
MT EL RO SI IT NL FR A T DE BE UK DK LU PL CZ HU CY PT ES BG SE FI SK IE LT LV EE
Source: Eurostat - LFS, Spring data. Gender segregation in sectors is calculated as the average national share of employment for w omen 
and men applied to each sector; differences are added up to produce the total amount of gender imbalance expressed as a proport ion of total 
employment (NACE classification). 
 
EN 11   EN  
Pay gap between women and men in unadjusted form in EU Member States - 2007 
(Difference between men's and women's average gross hourly earni ngs as a percentage of men's average gross hourly earnings)
051015202530
IT MT PL PT SI BE LU BG RO LV FR HU IE EU27 ES DK SE FI LT EL UK DE CY CZ NL SK AT EEpercent
Source: Eurostat. Structure of Earnings Survey 2006 and national sources (2007) for yearly SES-comparable estimates. Provisional data f or 
EU-27, BE, BG, EE, EL, ES, FI, FR, IT, MT and UK. See introductory text of the statistical annex for detailed information. 
At-risk-of-poverty rate after social transfers1for older people (women and men aged 65 years and 
over), in EU Member states, 2006
21
16
0102030405060
NL CZ LU PL SK HU DE SE FR DK AT MT EU25 RO BG SI IT BE FI PT EL LT UK EE IE ES LV CYpercentwomen men
Source:  Eurostat. SILC and national sources. 
NB: 1) At risk of poverty rate for elderly persons: The share of persons aged 65+ with an income below the risk-of-poverty threshol d, which is set at 60% of the national 
median income. Income must be understood as equivalised disposable income (sum from all sources, adjusted for household size an d composition). It should be 
noted that the risk-of-poverty indicator is computed using an income definition which does not yet include imputed rent of owne r-occupiers. Comparisons between 
genders are based on the assumption of equal sharing of resources within households. 
Source: EU-25: SILC(2006)  Income data 2005. BG: National HBS 2006, income data 2006 and RO National HBS 2006, income data 2006 . Exception to the income 
reference period UK: income year 2006 and  IE: moving income reference period (2005-2006).  EU aggregates are Eurostat estimate s and computed as population 
weighted averages of national values. 
 
 
EN 12   EN 2377
2476
0102030405060708090100
SE F I NL DK BE ES DE AT PT LU LT BG EE I T LV PL SK UK FR EL CY CZ I E S I HU RO MTpercentwomen men Left bar: 2004        Right bar: 2008
Source:  European Commission, Employment, Social affairs and Equal opportunities DG, Database on Women and Men in Decisionmaking
NB: (1) Data for 2008 have been collected in October 2008. The indicator has been developed within the framework of the follow- up of the 
Beijing Platform for Action in the EU Council of Ministers. BG and RO : data for 2004 are extracted from the IPU database (coll ected in Sept. 
2004)  EU aggregate : for 2004, the value is for EU-25 and not EU-27. Sex distribution of members of single/lower houses of national parliaments in EU Member States -
in 2004 and 2008 (1)
EU27
 
2278
2674
0102030405060708090100
F I ES SE BE DE DK AT FR UK NL BG PL MT EE LV I E LU I T S I LT HU PT CZ EL CY SK ROpercentwomen men Left bar: 2005        Right bar: 2008
Source:  European Commission, Employment, Social affairs and Equal opportunities DG, Database on Women and Men in Decisionmaking
NB: (1) Data for 2005 have been collected in December 2005 and data for 2008 have been collected in October 2008. The indicator  has been 
developed within the framework of the follow-up of the Beijing Platform for Action in the EU Council of Ministers. A senior min ister is a minister in 
the national government that has a seat in the cabinet. Sex distribution of senior ministers in national gove rnments in EU Member States - in 2005 and 2008  (1)
EU27
 
 
EN 13   EN Sex distribution of leaders of businesses, in 2007 
3268
0102030405060708090100
FR PL IT ES LV UK EU-
27PT LT EE AT BE BG DE SK HU EL CZ NL RO DK SI SE LU IE FI MT CYpercentWomen Men
Source:  Eurostat, Labour Force Survey (LFS).
NB: Leaders of businesses covers ISCO (International Standard Classification of Occupations) categories 121 (Directors and chief ex ecutives) and 13 
(Managers of small enterprises). 
FR : the figures exclude Directors and CEOs for which data are not available.
 
Sex distribution of members of the highest decision making body of largest publicly 
quoted companies in 2008
1189
0102030405060708090100
SE FI SI SK DK HU LT LV NL DE CZ UK RO BG EU-
27PL FR EE ES IE BE AT EL MT IT CY LU PTpercentWomen Men
Source: European Commission, Employment, Social affairs and Equal opportunities DG, Database on women and men in decision-making. 
Data have been collected in October 2008. The list of the largest publicly quoted companies is based for each country on curren t membership 
of blue-chip index. In countries for which the blue-chip index includes a small number of companies (for instance LU, SK), at l east the 10 
largest companies were covered.  
 
EN 14   EN  
Employment rates (women and men aged 15-64) in EU Member States — 2002 and 2007 
 Women Men Gender gap 
 2002 2007 2002 2007 2002 2007 
EU-27 54.4 58.3 70.4 72.5 16 14.2 
Belgium 51.4 55.3 68.3 68.7 16.9 13.4 
Bulgaria 47.5 57.6 53.7 66 6.2 8.4 
Czech Republic 57 57.3 73.9 74.8 16.9 17.5 
Denmark 71.7 73.2 80 81 8.3 7.8 
Germany  58.9 64 71.8 74.7 12.9 10.7 
Estonia 57.9 65.9 66.5 73.2 8.6 7.3 
Ireland 55.4 60.6 75.4 77.4 20 16.8 
Greece 42.9 47.9 72.2 74.9 29.3 27 
Spain 44.4 54.7 72.6 76.2 28.2 21.5 
France 56.7 60 69.5 69.3 12.8 9.3 
Italy 42 46.6 69.1 70.7 27.1 24.1 
Cyprus 59.1 62.4 78.9 80 19.8 17.6 
Latvia 56.8 64.4 64.3 72.5 7.5 8.1 
Lithuania 57.2 62.2 62.7 67.9 5.5 5.7 
Luxembourg  51.6 56.1 75.1 72.3 23.5 16.2 
Hungary 49.8 50.9 62.9 64 13.1 13.1 
Malta 33.9 35.7 74.7 72.9 40.8 37.2 
Netherlands 66.2 69.6 82.4 82.2 16.2 12.6 
Austria 61.3 64.4 76.4 78.4 15.1 14 
Poland 46.2 50.6 56.9 63.6 10.7 13 
Portugal 61.4 61.9 76.5 73.8 15.1 11.9 
Romania 51.8 52.8 63.6 64.8 11.8 12 
Slovenia 58.6 62.6 68.2 72.7 9.6 10.1 
Slovakia 51.4 53 62.4 68.4 11 15.4 
Finland 66.2 68.5 70 72.1 3.8 3.6 
Sweden 72.2 71.8 74.9 76.5 2.7 4.7 
United Kingdom 65.2 65.5 77.7 77.5 12.5 12 
Eurostat, Labour Force Surv ey (LFS), annual averages 
Employment rates of older workers (women and men aged 55-64) in EU Member States — 2002 and 2007 
 Women Men Gender gap 
 2002 2007 2002 2007 2002 2007 
EU-27 29.1 36 48.4 53.9 19.3 17.9 
Belgium 17.5 26 36 42.9 18.5 16.9 
Bulgaria 18.2 34.5 37 51.8 18.8 17.3 
Czech Republic 25.9 33.5 57.2 59.6 31.3 26.1 
Denmark 50.4 52.4 64.5 64.9 14.1 12.5 
Germany 30.6 43.6 47.3 59.7 16.7 16.1 
Estonia 46.5 60.5 58.4 59.4 11.9 -1.1 
Ireland 30.8 39.6 65 67.9 34.2 28.3 
Greece 24 26.9 55.9 59.1 31.9 32.2 
Spain 21.9 30 58.4 60 36.5 30 
France 30.8 36.2 38.7 40.5 7.9 4.3 
Italy 17.3 23 41.3 45.1 24 22.1 
Cyprus 32.2 40.3 67.3 72.5 35.1 32.2 
Latvia 35.2 52.4 50.5 64.6 15.3 12.2 
Lithuania 34.1 47.9 51.5 60.8 17.4 12.9 
Luxembourg 18.4 28.6 37.7 35.6 19.3 7 
Hungary 17.6 26.2 35.5 41.7 17.9 15.5 
Malta 10.9 11.6 50.8 45.9 39.9 34.3 
Netherlands 29.9 40.1 54.6 61.5 24.7 21.4 
Austria 19.3 28 39.6 49.8 20.3 21.8 
Poland 18.9 19.4 34.5 41.4 15.6 22 
Portugal 42.2 44 61.9 58.6 19.7 14.6 
Romania 32.6 33.6 42.7 50.3 10.1 16.7 
Slovenia 14.2 22.2 35.4 45.3 21.2 23.1 
Slovakia 9.5 21.2 39.1 52.5 29.6 31.3 
Finland 47.2 55 48.5 55.1 1.3 0.1 
Sweden 65.6 67 70.4 72.9 4.8 5.9 
United Kingdom 44.5 48.9 62.6 66.3 18.1 17.4 
Eurostat, Labour Force Surv ey (LFS), annual averages 
 
EN 15   EN Unemployment rates (women and men aged 15 and over) in EU Member States — 2002 and 2007 
In this table, the gender gap is calculated as wome n's unemployment rate minus men's unemployment rate 
 Women Men Gender gap 
 2002 2007 2002 2007 2002 2007 
EU-27 9.7 7.8 8.3 6.6 1.4 1.2 
Belgium  8.6 8.5 6.7 6.7 1.9 1.8 
Bulgaria  17.3 7.3 18.9 6.5 -1.6 0.8 
Czech Republic  9 6.7 6 4.2 3 2.5 
Denmark  5 4.2 4.3 3.5 0.7 0.7 
Germany  7.9 8.3 8.8 8.5 -0.9 -0.2 
Estonia  9.7 3.9 10.8 5.4 -1.1 -1.5 
Ireland  4.1 4.2 4.8 5 -0.7 -0.8 
Greece  15.7 12.8 6.8 5.2 8.9 7.6 
Spain  15.7 10.9 8.1 6.4 7.6 4.5 
France  9.7 8.9 7.7 7.8 2 1.1 
Italy  11.5 7.9 6.7 4.9 4.8 3 
Cyprus  4.5 4.6 2.9 3.4 1.6 1.2 
Latvia  11 5.6 13.3 6.4 -2.3 -0.8 
Lithuania  12.8 4.3 14.2 4.3 -1.4 0 
Luxembourg  3.5 5.1 2 3.4 1.5 1.7 
Hungary  5.4 7.7 6.2 7.1 -0.8 0.6 
Malta  9.3 7.6 6.6 5.8 2.7 1.8 
Netherlands  3.1 3.6 2.5 2.8 0.6 0.8 
Austria  4.4 5 4 3.9 0.4 1.1 
Poland  21 10.4 19.2 9 1.8 1.4 
Portugal  6.1 9.7 4.2 6.7 1.9 3 
Romania  7.9 5.4 9.2 7.2 -1.3 -1.8 
Slovenia  6.8 5.9 5.9 4 0.9 1.9 
Slovakia  18.7 12.7 18.6 9.9 0.1 2.8 
Finland  9.1 7.2 9.1 6.5 0 0.7 
Sweden  4.6 6.4 5.3 5.8 -0.7 0.6 
United Kingdom  4.5 5 5.7 5.6 -1.2 -0.6 
Eurostat, Labour Force Surv ey (LFS), annual averages 
Share of part-time workers in total employment (persons aged 15 and over), in EU Member States — 2002 
and 2007 
 Women Men 
 2002 2007 2002 2007 
EU-27 28.5 31.2 6.6 7.7 
Belgium 37.4 40.6 5.6 7.5 
Bulgaria 3 2.1 2.1 1.3 
Czech Republic 8.3 8.5 2.2 2.3 
Denmark 30.3 36.2 11.1 13.5 
Germany 39.5 45.8 5.8 9.4 
Estonia 10.7 12.1 4.8 4.3 
Ireland 30.6 (32.3) 6.5 (7.2) 
Greece 8 10.1 2.3 2.7 
Spain 16.8 22.8 2.6 4.1 
France 29.8 30.2 5.2 5.7 
Italy 16.9 26.9 3.5 5 
Cyprus 11.3 10.9 4 4.4 
Latvia 12 8 7.6 4.9 
Lithuania 12.3 10.2 9.4 7 
Luxembourg 25.3 37.2 1.8 2.6 
Hungary 5.1 5.8 2.3 2.8 
Malta 18.3 24.6 3.9 4.4 
Netherlands 73.1 75 21.2 23.6 
Austria 35.9 41.2 5.1 7.2 
Poland 13.4 12.5 8.5 6.6 
Portugal 16.4 16.9 7 8 
Romania 13 10.4 10.9 9.2 
Slovenia 7.5 11.3 4.9 7.7 
Slovakia 2.7 4.5 1.1 1.1 
Finland 17.5 19.3 8.3 9.3 
Sweden 33.1 40 11.1 11.8 
United Kingdom 43.8 42.2 9.6 10.8 
Eurostat, Labour Force Survey (LFS) – annual averages. Provisional data for IE in 2007.  
 
EN 16   EN Employment impact of parenthood for women and men (aged 25-49) in 2007 
Difference in percentage points in em ployment rates with presence of a ch ild under 12 and without any children  
 Women Men 
EU-27 -12.4 7.3 
Belgium -5.5 7.1 
Bulgaria -11.5 3.5 
Czech Republic -32.3 4.5 
Germany -16.2 7.1 
Estonia -18.2 6.2 
Ireland -19.7 6.2 
Greece -8.9 9.6 
Spain -11.2 8.1 
France -10.1 7.3 
Italy -9.2 10.3 
Cyprus -5.2 7.1 
Latvia -11.8 7.6 
Lithuania -6.0 7.5 
Luxembourg -12.6 6.4 
Hungary -27.5 4.3 
Malta -18.6 5.1 
Netherlands -8.7 4.8 
Austria -14.1 3.8 
Poland -11.1 11.2 
Portugal -0.8 8.4 
Romania -6.2 5.5 
Slovenia 1.9 7.7 
Slovakia -24.2 5.9 
Finland -11.7 10.0 
United Kingdom -17.4 4.4 
Source: Eurostat, labour force survey (LFS), Annual  average. Notes: no data available for DK and SE 
Proportion of children up to 3 years cared for by formal arrangements in 2006 (up to 30 hours / 30 hours or 
more per usual week) in 2006 
 Up to 30 hours 30 hours and more Total  
EU-25 14 12 26 
Belgium 17 23 40 
Czech Republic 1 1 2 
Denmark 7 66 73 
Germany 11 7 18 
Estonia 6 12 18 
Ireland 13 5 18 
Greece 2 8 10 
Spain 20 19 39 
France 14 17 31 
Italy 10 16 26 
Cyprus 7 18 25 
Latvia 2 14 16 
Lithuania 0 4 4 
Luxembourg 14 17 31 
Hungary 2 6 8 
Malta 5 3 8 
Netherlands 41 4 45 
Austria 3 1 4 
Poland 0 2 2 
Portugal 1 32 33 
Slovenia 3 26 29 
Slovakia 1 4 5 
Finland 5 21 26 
Sweden 17 27 44 
United Kingdom 28 5 33 
Source: Eurostat, EU-SILC 2006. Provisional data for BE, DE, EL, FR, IE, LT, LU, LV, MT, NL, PL, PT, SE, SK and UK. BG and RO :  no data available for 
2006. “Formal arrangements” means EU-SILC reply categories 1 to 4 (pre-school or equivalent, comp ulsory education, centre-based  services outside school 
hours, a collective crèche or another da y-care centre, including family day-care, professional certified childminders).  
 
EN 17   EN Average time spent per week in domestic and family work and in paid employment, in 2005 (by sex)  
 Women Men Gender gap 
 Domestic and 
family work Paid 
employment Domestic and 
family work Paid 
employment Domestic and 
family work Paid 
employment 
EU-27 25.5 38.1 7.8 45.5 17.7 -7.4 
Belgium  22.9 35.9 9.3 44.7 13.6 -8.9 
Bulgaria  24.4 46.9 7.0 48.7 17.5 -1.8 
Czech Republic  20.8 41.8 5.5 47.0 15.4 -5.3 
Denmark  20.9 36.4 10.8 42.9 10.1 -6.5 
Germany  18.7 37.4 4.8 44.9 13.9 -7.5 
Estonia  25.3 42.5 11.6 46.1 13.6 -3.6 
Ireland  27.2 34.3 7.5 46.7 19.7 -12.4 
Greece  28.8 43.6 7.1 53.1 21.7 -9.5 
Spain  24.4 40.3 4.8 46.1 19.5 -5.7 
France  26.2 36.2 8.2 40.5 18.1 -4.3 
Italy  31.0 36.3 7.7 44.8 23.3 -8.5 
Cyprus  33.1 40.7 6.3 44.2 26.8 -3.5 
Latvia  24.0 44.2 11.6 47.8 12.4 -3.6 
Lithuania  16.6 42.2 5.3 46.7 11.2 -4.5 
Luxembourg  32.9 36.9 12.5 44.8 20.4 -8.0 
Hungary  26.3 43.1 10.0 49.6 16.2 -6.5 
Malta  22.6 38.5 7.7 46.7 14.9 -8.2 
Netherlands  36.6 29.5 14.3 43.2 22.3 -13.7 
Austria  20.6 38.6 4.8 46.0 15.8 -7.4 
Poland  28.0 44.4 8.1 50.4 19.9 -6.0 
Portugal  25.4 43.6 9.5 46.3 15.9 -2.6 
Romania  29.0 49.5 9.0 53.1 20.1 -3.5 
Slovenia  30.9 43.7 10.1 46.1 20.7 -2.4 
Slovakia  26.6 44.4 7.7 49.0 18.9 -4.6 
Finland  18.8 38.6 8.8 43.1 10.0 -4.5 
Sweden  17.4 38.2 9.6 44.8 7.8 -6.6 
United Kingdom  28.7 32.0 10.5 44.1 18.2 -12.0 
Source: Fourth EWCS, 2005. For the columns "gender gap", a positive value indicates that more time is spent on average by women  than by men (for the related 
activity), while the opposite is true for a negative value. It has to be noted that the sample used only includes people who we re in paid employment in the 
reference week of the survey. Due to this limitation, caution s hould be exercised in interpreting the differences between women  and men's average time spent for 
both paid employment and unpaid domestic and family work. For instance, as regards paid employment, gender differences mainly r eflect different patterns in 
the gender distribution of part-time among EU Member States and not in the gender distribution of participation in employment i n general. If all working age 
persons were included (and not only those in paid employment) on e would expect that both differences in time-use between women and men would be more 
pronounced. 
Educational attainment (at least upper secondary school) of women and men aged 20 – 24, in EU Member 
States — 2002 and 2007 
 Women Men 
 2002 2007 2002 2007 
EU-27 79.3 80.8 74 75.5 
Belgium  84.8 84.9 78.5 80.4 
Bulgaria  79.5 83.6 75.2 83 
Czech Republic  92 92.4 92.4 91.3 
Denmark  82.6 77.7 74.3 64.2 
Germany  73.8 74.4 72.6 70.6 
Estonia  85.8 89.6 77.1 72.2 
Ireland  87.3 89.7 80.7 83.7 
Greece  86 87 76.1 77.5 
Spain  70.3 67.3 57.4 55.1 
France  82.8 85 80.5 79.8 
Italy  74.3 80 64.8 72.7 
Cyprus  89.5 91 76.7 79.8 
Latvia  84.3 84.1 70 76.4 
Lithuania  83.2 91.5 79.4 86.5 
Luxembourg  65.5 76.4 74 65.6 
Hungary  86.3 85.6 85.5 82.5 
Malta  42.2 59.6 36.1 51.8 
Netherlands  77.4 80.5 68.8 71.9 
Austria  84.6 85.4 86.1 82.7 
Poland  91.9 93.4 86.5 89.7 
Portugal  52.9 60.8 36.1 46.3 
Romania  77.7 77.7 74.8 77.1 
Slovenia  93.3 94.3 88.3 89 
Slovakia  95.4 92.1 93.5 90.5 
Finland  89 88 82.6 84.8 
Sweden  88.3 89 85.2 85.4 
United Kingdom  77.6 79 76.6 77.2 
Source: Eurostat, Labour Force Survey (LFS), annual averages. 
NB: DK: Break in series  Students living abroad for one year or more and conscripts on compulsory military service are not covered by the EU Labour Forc e Survey, which may imply 
lower rates than those available at national level. This is especially relevant for CY. 
 
EN 18   EN Gender segregation in occupations and in economic sectors in EU Member States, in 2002 and 2007 
 Gender segregation in 
occupations Gender segregation in 
economic sectors 
 2002 2007 2002 2007 
Belgium 25.3 25.7 18.2 18.6 
Bulgaria 27.1 29.4 18.1 20.8 
Czech Republic 29.6 28.5 19.3 19.7 
Denmark 28.3 25.7 18.5 18.9 
Germany 26.9 26.5 18.1 18.4 
Estonia 30.4 32.2 22.5 26.1 
Ireland 26.9 27.9 21.0 23.3 
Greece 21.6 22.4 15.4 15.9 
Spain 25.3 27.4 19.5 20.7 
France 26.3 26.7 17.5 18.3 
Italy 21.8 23.6 15.4 17.8 
Cyprus 28.8 28.9 18.1 20.1 
Latvia 28.6 30.2 21.7 23.5 
Lithuania 27.3 29.2 21.5 23.4 
Luxembourg 27.1 27.2 19.7 19.0 
Hungary 28.1 28.8 19.5 20.1 
Malta 24.5 23.6 18.0 14.9 
Netherlands 24.5 25.0 16.7 17.9 
Austria 27.8 26.2 20.4 18.3 
Poland 25.3 25.8 13.7 19.2 
Portugal 27.6 26.5 22.2 20.6 
Romania 11.9 23.2 14.6 16.1 
Slovenia 27.1 26.3 17.6 17.2 
Slovakia 30.8 30.3 22.5 23.2 
Finland 29.4 29.5 21.6 22.9 
Sweden 27.8 26.9 21.5 21.3 
United Kingdom 26.5 25.3 18.9 18.6 
Eurostat, Labour Force Survey (LFS) — Spring  data. Data lack comparability due to chan ges in certain survey  characteristics: Fo r occupations, RO: based until 
2004 on ISCO 1 digit. Break in series for FR, LU, IT, AT, DE, ES and SE.  Gender segregation in occupations  is calculated as the average national share of  employment for women an d men applied to each o ccupation; differences are 
added up to produce the total amount of gender imbalance expressed as a proportion of total employment (ISCO classification). Gender segregation in sectors is 
calculated as the average national share of employment for women and men applied to each sector; differences are added up to pr oduce the total amount of 
gender imbalance expressed as a proportion of total employment (NACE classification). 
Pay gap between women and men in unadjusted form in EU Member States — 2007 (Difference between men’s and 
women’s average gross hourly earnings as a per centage of men’s average gross hourly earnings)  
 2007 
EU-27 17.4 
Belgium 9.1 
Bulgaria 12.7 
Czech Republic 23.6 
Denmark 17.7 
Germany 23.0 
Estonia 30.3 
Ireland 17.1 
Greece 20.7 
Spain 17.6 
France 15.8 
Italy 4.4 
Cyprus 23.1 
Latvia 15.4 
Lithuania 20.0 
Luxembourg 10.0 
Hungary 16.3 
Malta 5.2 
Netherlands 23.6 
Austria 25.5 
Poland 7.5 
Portugal 8.3 
Romania 12.7 
Slovenia 8.3 
Slovakia 23.6 
Finland 20.0 
Sweden 17.9 
United Kingdom 21.1 
Source: Eurostat. Structure of Earnings Survey 2006 and national sources (2007) for yearly SES- comparable estimates. Provisiona l data for EU-27, BE, BG, EE, 
EL, ES, FI, FR, IT, MT and UK. See introductory text of  the statistical annex for detailed information.  
 
EN 19   EN At-risk-of-poverty rate after social transfers for older people (women and men aged 65 years and over) in EU 
Member States —2006 
 Women Men 
EU-25 21 16 
Belgium 25 21 
Bulgaria 24 9 
Czech Republic 8 2 
Denmark 19 16 
Germany 14 11 
Estonia 31 14 
Ireland 31 23 
Greece 27 23 
Spain 33 28 
France 18 14 
Italy 25 18 
Cyprus 54 50 
Latvia 36 17 
Lithuania 28 10 
Luxembourg 8 8 
Hungary 11 7 
Malta 20 22 
Netherlands 6 7 
Austria 20 11 
Poland 9 6 
Portugal 26 26 
Romania 22 13 
Slovenia 25 12 
Slovakia 11 4 
Finland 26 16 
Sweden 15 7 
United Kingdom 30 25 
Source: Eurostat. SILC and national sources.  
NB: At risk of poverty rate for elderly persons: The share of pe rsons aged 65+ with an income below the risk-of-poverty thresho ld, which is set at 60% of the 
national median income. Income must be understood as equivalised disposable income (sum from all sources, adjusted for househol d size and composition). It 
should be noted that the risk-of-poverty indicator is computed using an income definition which does not yet include imputed re nt of owner-occupiers. 
Comparisons between genders are based on the assumption of equal sharing of resources within households.  
Source: EU-25: SILC(2006) Income data 2005. BG: National HBS 2006, income data 2006 and RO National HBS 2006, income data 2006.  Exception to the 
income reference period UK: income year 2006 and IE: moving income reference period (2005-2006). EU aggregates are Eurostat est imates and computed as 
population weighted averages of national values.  
Members of single/lower houses of national parliament s in EU Member States — Distribution by sex 2004 
and 2008 (1) 
 2004 2008 
 Women Men Women Men 
EU-27 23 77 24 76 
Belgium 33 67 37 63 
Bulgaria 26 74 22 78 
Czech Republic 15 85 16 84 
Denmark 38 62 38 62 
Germany 32 68 33 67 
Estonia 15 85 21 79 
Ireland 12 88 13 87 
Greece 13 87 16 84 
Spain 35 65 35 65 
France 13 87 19 81 
Italy 12 88 21 79 
Cyprus 9 91 16 84 
Latvia 17 83 21 79 
Lithuania 22 78 23 77 
Luxembourg 24 76 25 75 
Hungary 9 91 11 89 
Malta 9 91 9 91 
Netherlands 38 62 41 59 
Austria 36 64 31 69 
Poland 21 79 20 80 
Portugal 20 80 29 71 
Romania 11 89 10 90 
Slovenia 13 87 13 87 
Slovakia 17 83 19 81 
Finland 40 60 41 59 
Sweden 48 52 46 54 
United Kingdom 18 82 19 81 
Source: European Commission, Employment, Social affairs and Equal opportunities DG, Database on Women and Men in Decision makin g 
NB: (1) Data for 2008 have been collected in October 2008. The indicator has been developed within the framework of the follow- up of the Beijing Platform for 
Action in the EU Council of Ministers. BG and RO: data for 2004 are extracted from the IPU database (collected in Sept. 2004). EU aggregate: for 2004, the 
value is for EU-25 and not EU-27.  
 
EN 20   EN  
Sex distribution of senior ministers in national governm ents in EU Member States — in 2005 and 2008 (1) 
 2005 2008 
 Women Men Women Men 
EU-27 22 78 26 74 
Belgium 23 77 40 60 
Bulgaria 32 68 26 74 
Czech Republic 10 90 11 89 
Denmark 28 72 37 63 
Germany 29 71 38 62 
Estonia 17 83 21 79 
Ireland 21 79 20 80 
Greece 6 94 11 89 
Spain 50 50 50 50 
France 18 82 34 66 
Italy 4 96 18 82 
Cyprus 0 100 8 92 
Latvia 24 76 21 79 
Lithuania 15 85 14 86 
Luxembourg 15 85 20 80 
Hungary 12 88 13 87 
Malta 15 85 22 78 
Netherlands 31 69 28 72 
Austria 55 45 36 64 
Poland 14 86 25 75 
Portugal 13 87 12 88 
Romania 20 80 0 100 
Slovenia 7 93 17 83 
Slovakia 7 93 6 94 
Finland 47 53 60 40 
Sweden 50 50 45 55 
United Kingdom 32 68 32 68 
Source: European Commission, Employment, Social affairs and Equal opportunities DG, Database on Women and Men in Decision makin g.  
NB: (1) Data for 2005 have been collected in December 2005 and da ta for 2008 have been collected in October 2008. The indicator  has been developed within 
the framework of the follow-up of the Beijing Platform for Action in the EU Council of Ministers. A senior minister is a minist er in the national government that 
has a seat in the cabinet.  
Sex distribution of leaders of businesses, in 2007  
 2007 
 Women Men 
EU-27 32.3 67.7 
Belgium 30.8 69.2 
Bulgaria 30.1 69.9 
Czech Republic 27.6 72.4 
Denmark 26.2 73.8 
Germany 29.8 70.2 
Estonia 31.9 68.1 
Ireland 21.1 78.9 
Greece 28.7 71.3 
Spain 34.9 65.1 
France 39.2 60.8 
Italy 35.0 65.0 
Cyprus 9.7 90.3 
Latvia 34.2 65.8 
Lithuania 32.1 67.9 
Luxembourg 22.3 77.7 
Hungary 28.9 71.1 
Malta 12.3 87.7 
Netherlands 27.5 72.5 
Austria 31.9 68.1 
Poland 35.0 65.0 
Portugal 32.1 67.9 
Romania 27.1 72.9 
Slovenia 25.7 74.3 
Slovakia 29.5 70.5 
Finland 17.4 82.6 
Sweden 24.5 75.5 
United Kingdom 33.2 66.8 
Source: Eurostat, Labour Force Survey (LFS).  
NB: Leaders of businesses covers ISCO (International Standard Classification of Occupations) categories 121 (Directors and chie f executives) and 13 (Managers 
of small enterprises).  For MT and CY: data lack reliability due to small sample size. FR: the figures exclude Directors and CE Os for which data are not available 
 
EN 21   EN Sex distribution of members of the highest decision making body of largest publicly quoted companies in 2008 
 2008 
 Women Men 
EU-27 11 89 
Belgium 7 93 
Bulgaria 12 88 
Czech Republic 13 87 
Denmark 17 83 
Germany 13 87 
Estonia 8 92 
Ireland 8 92 
Greece 6 94 
Spain 8 92 
France 9 91 
Italy 4 96 
Cyprus 3 97 
Latvia 16 84 
Lithuania 16 84 
Luxembourg 3 97 
Hungary 16 84 
Malta 4 96 
Netherlands 14 86 
Austria 6 94 
Poland 10 90 
Portugal 3 97 
Romania 12 88 
Slovenia 18 82 
Slovakia 18 82 
Finland 20 80 
Sweden 26 74 
United Kingdom 12 88 
Source: European Commission, Employment, Social affairs and Equal opportunities DG, Database on women and men in decision-makin g. Data have been 
collected in October 2008. The list of the largest publicly quoted companies is based for each country on current membership of  blue-chip index. In countries for 
which the blue-chip index includes a small number of companies (fo r instance LU, SK), at least the 10 largest companies were co vered.  
Indicators for the cand idate countries in 2007  
 Turkey Croatia FYROM 
 Women Men Gap Women Men Gap Women Men Gap 
Activity rate (15-64)  26.1 74.4 48.3 56.4 70.4 14 50 75.4 25.4 
Employment rate (15-
64)  23.8 68 44.2 50 64.4 14.4 32.1 49.1 17 
Employment rate of older 
workers (55-64) (1) 16.5 43 26.5 24.2 48.4 24.2 28.3 47.8 19.5 
Unemployment rate 25-
74 (2) 6.1 6.9 0.8 9.4 6.8 -2.6 35.7 34.9 -0.8 
Unemployment on 
population aged 15-24 3.9 8.5 4.6 8.4 8.3 -0.1 54.9 56.4 1.5 
Share of part-time 
workers 19.7 4.9 -14.8 11.3 6.4 -4.9 : : : 
Share of employees 
with temporary 
contracts 12.4 12.6 0.2 13.2 12.2 -1 : : : 
Educational attainment 
(upper secondary 
school, 20-24)  40 54.2 14.2 96.1 94.6 -1.5 : : : 
Share of members of 
national parliaments (3)  9 91 - 22 78 -  31 69 -  
Share of members of 
senior ministers of 
national governments(3)  4 96 - 22 78 - 9 91 - 
Share among members 
of boards of top quoted 
companies(3) 9 91 - 12 88 - 9 91 - 
Source: Eurostat, LFS 2007 except for FYROM for which the source is Labour force survey 2007 (2nd quarter) – Republic of Macedonia – State Statistical office 
(News release September 2008, n°2.1.8.29).  The gender gap is always calculated as the value for men minus the value for women.  
(1) For FYROM, the employment rate is calculated among persons 50-64 (and not 55-64).  
(2) For FYROM, the unemployment rate is calculated among persons 15-64 (and not 25-74). (3) Source: European Commission, Employment, Social affairs and Equal opportunities DG, Database on Women and Men in Decision m aking. Data collected in 
October 2008.