The gender pay gap, or the difference in earnings between women and men, remains a widespread problem across the European Union. Lower wages translate into disparities in pension levels, exposing women of retirement age to a higher risk of poverty. At its latest session, the European Parliament called on the European Commission to prepare an action plan to combat these inequalities. According to Polish women MEPs, this should include measures to ease the burden of childcare and care for dependent relatives, enabling women to return to work more quickly.
“The pay gap and the pension gap are of enormous importance. Women still work longer than men in the same positions and are not paid fairly, meaning equally, for it. Later, this translates into poverty among women in retirement,” Mirosława Nykiel, a Member of the European Parliament from the Civic Coalition (EPP) and rapporteur on the report on the gender pay and pension gap in the EP Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality, told Newseria.
According to the latest available Eurostat data, the average gender pay gap in the European Union stood at 11.1% in 2024. This was slightly lower than in 2023, when it amounted to 12%. The largest differences in earnings were recorded in Estonia, at 18.8%. Luxembourg was the only member state where men earned less than women, with a gap of -0.8%. Poland can boast one of the lowest pay gaps in the EU, at 4%.
“Of course, we are not satisfied that the gap in Poland is 4%. Although it is not high, it still exists. Polish solutions may, however, serve as an example of how to reduce it and how to keep it as low as possible. If we add to this the fact that women perform the majority of household duties and still earn less, then I think we still have work to do,” stressed Jadwiga Wiśniewska, a Member of the European Parliament from Law and Justice.
At the same time, Eurostat data show that in 2024 the average pension received by women aged 65+ in the EU was 24.5% lower than that of men. The widest disparities were recorded in Malta, at 40.3%, and the Netherlands, at 36.3%, while the smallest were found in Estonia, at 5.6%, and Slovakia, at 8.4%. In Poland, the pension gap amounted to 14.5%, which is linked not only to lower earnings among women but also to differences in retirement age. In 2024, 16.9% of retired women in the EU were at risk of poverty, nearly twice as many as men.
“The pension gap in the European Union is almost 25%, meaning women receive a quarter less pension income because they cannot work full-time. This affects around 30% of women, compared to only 7.7% of men. Women must devote more time to caring for children and dependent people because there is not enough accessible care and not enough appropriate facilities,” Mirosława Nykiel argues.
In the report she presented to the European Parliament on 9 March this year, the MEP pointed out that the gender pay gap in the EU at around 12% in 2023 meant that women were effectively working an average of 54 to 67 days a year for free. Inequality is also deepened by the unequal distribution of unpaid work. When professional work and caregiving duties are combined, women are found to perform work equivalent to around eight additional weeks each year. Around 74% of women perform daily household chores, compared with 42% of men.
As Mirosława Nykiel emphasized, the adoption of the report by a strong majority in the European Parliament, with 458 votes in favor, 72 against, and 98 abstentions, sends an important signal to the European Commission on the need to prepare a suitable action plan. In the view of MEPs, this plan should include targeted measures aimed at improving working conditions and ensuring fair pay in female-dominated sectors. It should also prioritize investments under the next long-term EU budget in order to strengthen women’s work–life balance and support the development of the care sector.
“In this report, we are putting forward proposals to change this situation. In the 21st century, we cannot afford to downplay it,” the Civic Coalition MEP said.
As highlighted in a statement by the European People’s Party, the gender pay and pension gap was estimated to have cost the EU €390 billion in 2023 due to lost earnings and lower public revenues. Closing the gender employment gap could increase GDP per capita by 3.2% to 5.5% by 2050, while higher wages would encourage more women to enter and remain in the labor market.
“First of all, pay transparency. There is a directive that entered into force in 2024, but it is still not being properly implemented in all countries,” Mirosława Nykiel said. “Employers must pay equally for work in the same positions, and there must be pay transparency. We cannot overlook the fact that the same value of work is rewarded with completely different pay.”
Member states have until 7 June this year to implement the Pay Transparency Directive. Poland did so through an amendment to the Labor Code, which entered into force on 24 December 2025. Some of the provisions are already in effect, and employers must, among other things, disclose salary ranges in job advertisements. From 7 June this year, employees will also be able to request information about the average pay of those performing the same or equivalent work.
“Pay transparency does not entirely meet the objective of reducing the pay gap. Employers point out that workers in the same position do not always perform their duties in the same way. Sometimes these differences are very large, and it is the employer who moderates such matters. With pay transparency, everyone can see how much each person in a given position earns, but we also know that each of us performs our duties differently. In employers’ view, this also limits their ability to adjust pay, which they do not consider fair,” Jadwiga Wiśniewska noted.
In the report she co-authored, Mirosława Nykiel also points to the need for additional measures. One of them is accessible care services, without which, in her view, true equality at work cannot be achieved.
“Infrastructure is key: the availability of nurseries for children, kindergartens everywhere, including in rural areas where access is even worse. In addition, there must be care infrastructure for dependent persons, parents and grandparents,” stressed the rapporteur on the report concerning the gender pay and pension gap.
“A whole range of actions is needed, starting with systemic solutions that allow women to combine professional work with family responsibilities. Work–life balance is extremely important, because it is often one of the causes of the pay gap. Women, while fulfilling themselves as mothers, leave the profession for a period of time, which later results in wage disparities. That is why we are looking for solutions to support young mothers, so they can return to work and combine motherhood with professional life,” Jadwiga Wiśniewska believes.
Together with the amendment to the Labor Code resulting from the implementation of the Work–Life Balance Directive, fathers gained an individual right to part of parental leave, including nine weeks of parental leave that cannot be transferred to the mother. According to reports by the Share the Care Foundation and Poland’s Social Insurance Institution (ZUS), the number of fathers taking parental leave in relation to the number of births rose from 1% in 2022 to 24% in 2025. Experts note with concern, however, that over the same period the share of men taking paternity leave fell from 64% in 2024 to 58% in 2025.
Despite the growing number of fathers taking parental leave, their share of the total number of leave days used remains low, at 6%. The average length of leave taken by fathers is 43 days, while mothers take an average of 143 days. This means that fathers are still not making full use of their nine-week non-transferable entitlement.
“A mother’s place right after childbirth is with her child for many reasons, above all physiological and emotional ones. The first weeks are the most important time for building a bond. The solution introduced several years ago in the form of paternity leave is a step in the right direction: first, to involve men in childcare and, second, to give women a chance to pursue their professional ambitions. This direction is absolutely the right one,” Jadwiga Wiśniewska said.
The report by ZUS and the Share the Care Foundation indicates that, despite positive changes, women still perform the majority of unpaid care work. In 2025, mothers accounted for 78% of all absence days taken to care for a sick child.
