Mind the gap! Gender employment gap cost Europe over €390 billion in 2023

Eurofound analysis of the gender employment gap in the EU shows that its cost - when considering foregone earnings and missed welfare contributions of individuals to society, as well as the public finance cost - was estimated to be over €390 billion in 2023, corresponding to 2.3% of the EU’s GDP.

This represents an individual cost of €29,374.93. A longer-scale analysis, also conducted by Eurofound, shows that the cost of the gender employment gap was over €4 trillion in 2013-2023.

The gender employment gap in Europe has shrunk by 5.4 points since 2005 and will close further due to higher female participation in younger age groups and institutional reforms such as the adaption of pension ages.

However, progress has been slower than anticipated and in 2023 the EU gender employment gap still stood at 10.2 percentage points; Italy, Greece and Malta all recorded gender employment gaps close to 20 percentage points.

Speaking on the findings, Eurofound Head of Unit for Social Policies Massimiliano Mascherini said, 'The gender employment gap has significant economic implications for Europe, not only impeding efforts to progress gender equality, but also undermining Europe's competitive performance on the global stage. Providing opportunities and ensuring the freedom of choice for all women that want to participate in the labour market is paramount.’

Eurofound Head of Unit for Information and Communication Mary McCaughey commented, 'Progress on closing the gender employment and pay gaps has been painfully slow in recent years, and new labour market developments related to AI and digitalisation pose potential challenges in the forthcoming period. Closing the gender employment gap and furthering gender equality on the labour market must remain a priority’.

Eurofound will publish a special episode of the Eurofound Talks podcast looking at the future of gender equality in Europe for International Women's Day on 8 March. Subscribe to the series here.

Further information:

• Eurofound: Gender equality
• Eurostat: Gender statistics