The unequal economic situation of women and men remains a major barrier to a gender-equal Europe. Despite the higher participation of women in education, they continue to face challenges in the labour market, often referred to as the ‘reverse gender gap’. Not only do fewer women work compared to men, they are also not equally valued for their work across all socio-demographic groups, including age, education, and disability. Women earn, on average, 12.7% less per hour than men. This culminates across a lifetime of lower earnings, career interruptions, and higher likelihood of part-time work due to motherhood or other caregiving responsibilities to an average pension gap of 29% across the EU. Women also continue to be significantly underrepresented in leadership roles. Only 7% of large European companies are led by women. The rise in burnout and depression is particularly striking among women, leaving many unable to work.

Women are also overrepresented in lower-paying sectors, such as healthcare, education, and retail, contributing to the persistent gender pay gap. Migrant women in the EU have diverse lived experiences and needs, yet often encounter inadequate training opportunities and long delays in the recognition of their qualifications. They are more likely to be unemployed than any other group. Women of colour are likely to be over-represented in low-paid, poorly protected sectors where risk of exploitation and abuse is higher. Additionally, one in three migrant women work in precarious work like cleaning, care, and manufacturing. The workplace is also the most common setting for discrimination for LGBTIQ individuals, with 18% reported feeling discriminated against while at work last year. The rates are much higher for trans people and non-binary people.