Women in the European Union still continue to earn less than men, with the average gender pay gap in the EU standing at about 13%, for the third year in a row. This means that for every €1 a man earns, a woman makes €0.87. This gender pay gap equals to a difference of around one month and a half of salary per year. Considering this loss of income, European Equal Pay Day – falling on 15 November this year marks the day from which women in the EU will symbolically start ‘working for free’ for the rest of the year. It is a symbolical day dedicated to raising awareness to the gender pay gap.
Ahead of this day, Věra Jourová, Vice-President for Values and Transparency, Nicolas Schmit, Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights, and Helena Dalli, Commissioner for Equality, have issued the following statement:
“On the 2024 European Equal Pay Day, we reaffirm our commitment to build a Europe where women and girls can thrive and where their contributions to the labour market are fully valued. Guided by the EU’s Gender Equality Strategy, we have made strides toward closing gender disparities. Indeed, in the past five years, women’s employment has risen by 2.9 percentage points and the gender pay gap has declined by 1.5 percentage points.
Nonetheless, significant barriers remain in terms of care options and structures available to balance professional and personal commitments. With 90% of the formal care workforce comprised of women and 7.7 million women out of employment due to insufficient care services, the Commission urges Member States to invest in high-quality, affordable, and accessible care, as outlined in the European Care Strategy. Increasing support in this sector will not only enhance women’s participation in the labour market but will also strengthen Europe’s economic resilience.
Our labour market remains gender-segregated, with women largely represented in lower-paying sectors such as caregiving, where part-time roles often dominate. This is not simply a matter of choice, but the result of societal pressures and inequalities. Career interruptions and reduced work hours, especially following maternity, continue to compromise women’s long-term financial situation. From the outset of this mandate, we have tackled these entrenched inequalities across employment, care, pay, and pensions.
We now call on Member States to ensure the full implementation of the Pay Transparency Directive, which will advance pay transparency for jobseekers, provide employees with the right to pay information, require reporting on the gender pay gap, and introduce joint pay assessments. Through the EU Directive on adequate minimum wages, we support gender equality by aiming to reduce the gender pay gap and lift women out of poverty, as women disproportionately earn minimum wages in Europe.
As President von der Leyen announced, next year the Commission will present a Roadmap for Women’s Rights, setting out a long-term vision for the full realisation of women’s rights and key gender equality principles in the EU. This is also reaffirmed in our commitment to integrating a gender mainstreaming perspective into all policies.
Source: Statement on the occasion of the European Equal Pay Day
