Women and men in the EU - facts and figures

In 1995, the Fourth World Conference on Women adopted the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action for Equality, Development and Peace (BPfA). The BPfA is an agenda for women’s empowerment. It reaffirms the fundamental principle whereby the human rights of women and the girl child are an inalienable, integral and indivisible part of universal human rights. As an agenda for action, the BPfA seeks to promote and protect the full enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by women throughout their lives.

The BPfA addresses twelve critical areas of concern requiring particular action towards the advancement of women:

Women and poverty (A)

A1. At-risk-of-poverty rate by age and sex

A2. At-risk-of-poverty rate by type of household and sex, including at-risk-of-poverty rate of single parents with dependent children

A3a. Inactivity by age and sex: share of women and men who are inactive by age

A3b. Inactivity by age and sex: share of inactive women and men who are not looking for a job for family care reasons

Education and Training of Women (B)

B1. Proportion of female graduates and male graduates of all graduates in mathematics, the sciences and technical disciplines (tertiary education)

B2. Employment rate of women and men (aged between 25 and 39 years; and aged between 40 and 64) by highest level of education attained

B3a. Proportion of female/male ISCED 5a-graduates of all ISCED 5a-graduates and proportion of female/male PhD graduates of all PhD graduates by broad field of study and total

B3b. Proportion of female and male academic staff differentiated by level of seniority and in total

Women and Health (C)

C1. Healthy Life Years

C2. Access to health care (unmet demand)

C3. Cardio-vascular diseases

Violence Against Women (D)

D1. Domestic violence against women: profile of female victims of violence

D2. Domestic violence against women: profile of male perpetrators

D3. Domestic violence against women: victim support

D4. Domestic violence against women: measures addressing the male perpetrator to end the circle of violence

D5. Domestic violence against women: training of professionals

D6. Domestic violence against women: state measures to eliminate domestic violence against women

D7. Domestic violence against women: evaluation

D8. The number of employees who report incidents of sexual harassment at the workplace, as a percentage of the total workforce

D9. The number of private and public enterprises which have a preventive policy regarding sexual harassment at the workplace, as a percentage of the total number of employers

D10. The number of private and public enterprises which have procedures for sanctions in place for perpetrators of sexual harassment at the workplace, as a percentage of the total number of employers

Women and Armed Conflict (E)

E1. Proportion (number and percentage) of men and women trained specifically in gender equality among:

– diplomatic staff and civilian and military defence staff employed by the Member States and Community institutions, and

– staff participating in UN peacekeeping operations (PKOs) and ESDP missions, including military and police staff

E2. Proportion (number and percentage) of women and men among:

– heads of diplomatic missions and EC delegations

– staff participating in UN peacekeeping operations and ESDP missions, including military and police staff

E3. Funding (as a total amount and as a percentage of cooperation programmes) allocated by the Member States and the European Commission, in countries affected by armed conflict or in post-conflict situations, to support gender equality, broken down, where possible, to reflect funding to support:

– female victims of violence, and

– the participation of women in peace-building and post-conflict reconstruction

Indicator E3a. Proportion of funding for these programmes allocated to NGOs working for gender equality and women's empowerment

E4. Proportion (number and percentage) and country of origin of female and male asylum seekers who have obtained the status of refugee, or benefit from subsidiary protection

Women and the economy (F)

F1. Employed men and women on parental leave (paid and unpaid) within the meaning of Directive 96/34/EC on the framework agreement between the social partners on parental leave, as a proportion of all employed parents

F2. Allocation of parental leave between employed women and men as a proportion of all parental leave

F3. Children cared for (other than by the family) as a proportion of all children of the same age group:

- before entry into the non-compulsory pre-school system (during the day);

- in the non-compulsory or equivalent pre-school system (outside pre-school hours);

- in compulsory primary education (outside school hours)

F4. Comprehensive and integrated policies, particularly employment policies, aimed at promoting a balance between work and family life for both men and women (including, for example, a description of available child care facilities, parental leave and flexible working time arrangements, of services offered by companies for their employees, and of flexible opening hours of public services such as local authority offices, post offices, crèches, and shops)

F5. Dependent elderly men and women (unable to look after themselves on a daily basis) over 75

- living in specialised institutions;

- who have help (other than the family) at home;

- looked after by the family

as a proportion of men and women over 75

F6. Total "tied" time per day for each employed parent living with a partner, having one or more children under 12 years old or a dependent:

- paid working time;

- travelling time;

- basic time spent on domestic work;

- other time devoted to the family (upbringing and care of children and care of dependent adults)

F7. Total "tied" time per day for each employed parent living alone, having one or more children under 12 years old or a dependent

- paid working time;

- travelling time;

- basic time spent on domestic work;

- other time devoted to the family (upbringing and care of children and care of dependent adults)

F8. Ratio for all employees

F9. Ratio for the total sum of wage

F10. Ratio for part-time work

F11. Ratio by age and education

F12. Segregation in the labour market

F13. Ratio according to personal characteristics

F14. Breakdown of the hourly wage gap between men and women using the Oaxaca technique

F15. Measures to promote equal pay and combat the gender pay gap

F16. Influence of collective bargaining on the promotion of equal pay and the elimination of the gender pay gap

F17. Effect of part-time work, parental leave, time credit systems and career breaks on the gender pay gap

Women in Power and Decision-making (G)

G1. The proportion of women in the single/lower houses of the national/federal Parliaments of the Member States and in the European Parliament

G2. The proportion of women in the regional Parliaments of the Member States, where appropriate

G3. The proportion of women in local assemblies in the Member States

G4. Policies to promote a balanced participation in political elections

G5. The proportion of women among the members of the national/ federal governments and the proportion of women among members of the European Commission

G6. The number of women and men among senior/junior ministers in the different fields of action (portfolios/ministries) of the national/federal governments of the Member States

G7. The proportion of the highest ranking civil servants who are women

G8. The distribution of the highest ranking women civil servants in different fields of action

G9. The proportion of women among the members of the Supreme Courts of the Member States and the proportion of women among the members of the European Court of Justice and the Court of First Instance

G10. The proportion and number of women and men among Governors and deputy/vice-governors of the Central Banks

G11. The proportion and number of women and men among members of the decision-making bodies of the Central Banks

G12. The proportion and number of women and men among ministers and deputy ministers/vice-ministers of the Economic Ministries

G13. The proportion and number of women and men among presidents and vice-presidents of the Labour Confederations

G14. The proportion and number of women and men among members of total governing bodies of the Labour Confederations

G15. The proportion and number of women and men among presidents and vice-presidents of the Employer Confederations

G16. The proportion and number of women and men among members of total governing bodies of the Employer Confederations

G17. The proportion and number of women and men among chiefs of executive boards of the top 50 firms publicly quoted on the national stock exchange

G18. The proportion and number of women and men among members of executive boards of the top 50 firms publicly quoted on the national stock exchange

Institutional Mechanisms for the Advancement of Women (H)

H1. Status of governmental responsibility in promoting gender equality

H2a. Personnel resources of the governmental gender equality body

H2b. Personnel resources of the designated body or bodies for the promotion of equal treatment of women and men

H3. Gender mainstreaming

Human Rights of Women (I)

Women and the Media (J)

Women and the Environment (K)

K1. Proportion of women and men in climate change decision-making bodies at the national level in the EU Member States

K2. Proportion of women and men in climate change decision-making in the European Parliament and the Commission

K3. Proportion of women and men in climate change decision-making bodies at the international level

K4. Proportion of women and men among tertiary graduates of all graduates (ISCED levels 5 and 6) in natural sciences and technologies at the EU and Member State level

The Girl Child (L)

L1. Sex and relationship education: parameters of sexuality-related education in schooling (primary and secondary)

L2. Body self-image: dissatisfaction of girls and boys with their bodies

L3. Educational accomplishments: comparison of 15-year-old students’ performance in mathematics and science and the proportion of girl students in tertiary education in the field of science, mathematics and computing and in the field of teacher training and education science

The European Union regards equality between women and men as a fundamental principle. In December 1995, the European Council acknowledged the commitment of the European Union to the BPfA and expressed its intent to review its implementation across the Member States on a yearly basis.

Since 1999 a number of quantitative and qualitative indicators have been developed by the Presidencies of the EU Council to monitor progress towards the achievement of the goals of the BPfA. By 2012 the Council adopted the conclusions and took note of the proposed indicators in ten out of twelve critical areas defined by the BPfA. Currently, indicators for the following two areas are yet to be developed: Human Rights of Women; Women and the Media.

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