Estonia

In the domain of work, the increased participation of women and men in employment contributed to an increase in the score.

The employment rate (20-64) is 73 % for women versus 81 % for men. The total employment rate is 77 %, and Estonia has reached its national target of the Europe 2020 strategy (EU2020) (76 %).

The gender gap in the employment rate doubles when the number of hours worked is taken into account. The full-time equivalent (FTE) employment rate of women is around 50 %, compared to 64 % for men.

Among couples with children, the FTE employment rate for women is 61 % compared to 87 % for men. The gender gap is much wider compared to that of couples without children, where almost no gender differences are present. The FTE employment rate is also wider for men than women aged 25-49 (82 % versus 71 %, respectively). The FTE employment rate increases and the gender gap shrinks as education levels rise.

15 % of women work part-time, compared to 7 % of men. On average, women work 37 hours per week, compared to 40 hours for men. 8 % of working-age women versus 0.3 % of working-age men are either inactive or work part-time due to care responsibilities.

Gender segregation in the labour market is a reality for both women and men. Nearly 26 % of women compared to 6 % of men work in education, human health and social work activities (EHW). About four times more men (39 %) than women (10 %) work in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) occupations. There are twice as many highly educated women working in education, health and welfare (EHW) as women with a low level of education.

The score in the domain of money has increased. Gender equality has improved in earnings and income, but has regressed in poverty and in the distribution of wealth.

Mean monthly earnings of women and men have increased, but so has the gender gap. Women earn around 29 % less than men per month.

The gender gap in earnings is greater among lone parents, people aged 25-49, highly educated people and foreign-born people. In each group, women always earn less than men. The net incomes of women and of men have doubled.

The population of women and men at risk of poverty has increased. The risk affects women more heavily than men (24 % of women and 19 % of men). Nearly 40 % of women aged 65+ are at risk of poverty, compared to 18 % of men the same age.

Inequalities in income distribution have increased. The gender pay gap is 27 % to the detriment of women. In 2012, women had lower pensions than men and the gender gap was 5 %. The EU-28 averages are 16 % and 38 %, respectively.

The score in the domain of knowledge has improved.

From 2005 to 2015, the number of tertiary graduates increased significantly, mostly among women. 41 % of women compared to 25 % of men have a tertiary degree. This gap, to the disadvantage of men, is widening.

Only 31 % of women with disabilities have attained tertiary education, compared to 45 % of women without disabilities. This is a bigger gender gap in tertiary education attainment than among men with disabilities (20 %), compared to men without disabilities (28 %).

Estonia has already met its national EU2020 target to have 40 % of people aged 30-34 obtain tertiary education. The current rate is 45 %.

Women’s participation in lifelong learning has increased, but for men it has stalled.

Gender segregation in knowledge remains a major challenge. 41 % of women students are concentrated in the fields of education, health and welfare, humanities and art, compared to only 14 % of men.

In the domain of time, the score barely changed. It remains among the highest in the EU-28. This is due to a more equal sharing of care activities among women and men. However, gender inequalities persist. Challenges remain in the division of time allocated to social activities between women and men.

Women take on more responsibilities for caring for their family. 35 % of women care for and educate their family members for at least 1 hour, compared to 31 % of men. Involvement in care responsibilities increases with a person’s level of education, especially for men. Among couples with children, more women (92 %) than men (66 %) are involved in daily care activities.

76 % of women compared to 47 % of men do cooking and housework every day for at least 1 hour. The gender gap has slightly increased and is greater among people in couples with children, with 90 % of women and 51 % of men doing cooking and housework on a daily basis.

Inequality in time-sharing at home also extends to social activities. Men are slightly more likely than women to participate in sporting, cultural and leisure activities outside the home (38 % versus 34 %, respectively).

Participation in voluntary or charitable activities is slightly higher for women than it is for men. This level of engagement has decreased for both, but has declined for men at a faster rate.

21 % of children under the age of three and 93 % of children between the age of three and school age are enrolled in childcare. Estonia has met only the second of the two ‘Barcelona targets’, which are to have at least 33 % of children below three and 90 % of children between three and school age in childcare.

The score in the domain of power has increased, even if at a slower pace compared to most EU-28 countries. It remains the domain with the lowest score in Estonia, mostly due to the lack of women in the areas of economic and social power.

The increase in the sub-domain of political power is because of an improved gender balance in parliament. The percentage of women members rose from 19 % to 23 % from 2005 to 2015. More women also became government ministers (22 %).

Publicly listed companies had a large decrease in the percentage of women on their corporate boards: from 14 % in 2005 to 8 % in 2015. On the other hand, women have gained more decision-making positions in the central bank, to represent 18 % of board members (up from 13 %).

There are no women on the boards of research-funding organisations. On the other hand, women make up a quarter of the board members of publicly owned broadcasting organisations. In sport, women comprise just 11 % of members of the highest decision-making bodies of national Olympic sport organisations.

The scores in the domain hardly changed. Health status has improved, while access to services has gone down.

The sub-domain of status measures perceived health, life expectancy and healthy life years. The gaps between women and men have narrowed in all three areas.

Life expectancy has increased for both women and men. On average women live nearly 9 years longer than men. Women also have more healthy life years, but the difference is much smaller (2 years).

50 % of women and 54 % of men assess their health as ‘good’ or ‘very good’. Women and men in couples with children are twice as satisfied with their health as women and men in couples without children.

The drop in the sub-domain of access is due to a rise in unmet medical needs: 16 % for women and 13 % for men. This has been partially offset by a decrease in unmet dental needs, which is 13 % for women and 11 % for men.

More than half of men smoke or drink excessively, compared to around a quarter of women. Women and men engage equally in healthy behaviour (doing physical activities and/or consuming fruit and vegetables).

Violence against women is included in the Gender Equality Index as a satellite domain. This means that the scores of the domain of violence do not have an impact on the final score of the Gender Equality Index. From a statistical perspective, the domain of violence does not measure gaps between women and men as core domains do. Rather, it measures and analyses women’s experiences of violence. Unlike other domains, the overall objective is not to reduce the gaps of violence between women and men, but to eradicate violence completely.

A high score in the Gender Equality Index means a country is close to achieving a gender-equal society. However, in the domain of violence, the higher the score, the more serious the phenomenon of violence against women in the country is. On a scale of 1 to 100, 1 represents a situation where violence is non-existent and 100 represents a situation where violence against women is extremely common, highly severe and not disclosed. The best-performing country is therefore the one with the lowest score.

Estonia’s score for the domain of violence is 25.8, which is slightly lower than the EU average.

In Estonia, 34 % of women have experienced physical and/or sexual violence since the age of 15.

5 % of women who have experienced physical and/or sexual violence by any perpetrator in the past 12 months have not told anyone. This rate is lower than the EU average of 13 %.

At societal level, violence against women costs Estonia an estimated EUR 590 million a year through lost economic output, service utilisation and personal costs (1).

The domain of violence is made up of three sub-domains: prevalence, which measures how often violence against women occurs; severity, which measures the health consequences of violence; and disclosure, which measures the reporting of violence.

[1] This is an exercise done at EU level to estimate the costs of the three major dimensions: services, lost economic output and pain and suffering of the victims. The estimates were extrapolated to the EU from a United Kingdom case study, based on population size. EIGE, Estimating the costs of gender-based violence in the European Union, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 2014, p. 142.

Estonia’s score in the domain of work is 71.5, showing slight progress of 0.5 points since 2005 (- 0.6 points since 2015), with increased participation of women and men in employment.

Estonia ranks second in the EU in the sub-domain of participation. The employment rate (of people aged 20-64) is 76 % for women and 84 % for men. With the overall employment rate of 80 %, Estonia has reached its national EU 2020 employment target of 76 %. The full-time equivalent (FTE) employment rate rose from 48 % to 51 % for women and from 58 % to 65 % for men between 2005 and 2017, widening the gender gap. Between women and men in couples with children, the gap is far greater than in couples without children (26 percentage points (p.p.) and 1 p.p.). The FTE employment rate increases and the gender gap shrinks as education levels rise.

About 15 % of women work part-time, compared to 7 % of men. On average, women work 37 hours per week and men work 40 hours. The uneven concentration of women and men in different sectors of the labour market remains an issue: 25 % of women work in education, health and social work, compared to 4 % of men. Fewer women (10 %) than men (40 %) work in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) occupations.

Estonia’s score in the domain of money is 69.4, showing progress of 11 points since 2005 (+ 2.7 points since 2015), with significant improvements in the financial situations of both women and men.

Despite increases in mean monthly earnings of both women (+ 53 %) and men (+ 48 %) from 2006 to 2014, the gender gap persists: women earn 29 % less than men. This is the widest gender gap in the EU. In couples with children, women earn 38 % less than men, while in couples without children, women earn 22 % less. Gender gaps are prevalent across all levels of education: women with low, medium and high education earn around a third less than men.

The risk of poverty increased between 2005 and 2017. Around 25 % of women (+ 6 p.p.) and 19 % of men (+ 3 p.p.) are at risk. People facing the highest risks of poverty are: single people, especially women (58 % of women compared to 45 % of men), women aged 65 and over (48 %), women with low education (44 %) and women with disabilities (40 %). Inequalities in income distribution slightly decreased among and between women and men from 2005 to 2017. Women earn on average 74 cents for every euro a man makes per hour, resulting in a gender pay gap of 26 %. The gender pension gap is 3 %.

Estonia’s score in the domain of knowledge is 55.5, with a 6-point increase since 2005 (+ 2.3 points since 2015). Estonia ranks 22nd in the EU in the domain of knowledge. There are improvements in both sub-domains of attainment and participation, and segregation.

The share of women tertiary graduates increased (from 32 % to 42 %), while the share of men also increased (from 23 % to 26 %), widening the gender gap between 2005 and 2017. The gender gap in attainment is higher for lone parents (22 p.p.), and between women and men aged 25-49 (21 p.p.), to the detriment of men. Estonia has reached its national EU 2020 target of having 40 % of people aged 30-34 obtain tertiary education. The current rate is 47 % (58 % for women and 38 % for men). Participation in formal and non-formal education and training also increased from 15 % to 21 % for women and from 16 % to 18 % for men, between 2005 and 2017. Estonia’s participation rate in lifelong learning is the eighth highest in the EU.

Despite an increase in the sub-domain score, the uneven concentration of women and men in different study fields in tertiary education is a challenge for Estonia: 42 % of women students and 16 % of men students study education, health and welfare, and humanities and art.

Estonia’s score in the domain of time has not changed since the last edition of the Index, because new data is not available. The next data update for this domain is expected in 2021. More frequent time-use data would help to track progress in this domain.

Estonia’s score in the domain of time is 74.7. It ranks fifth in the EU. Since 2005, inequalities have decreased in the distribution of time spent on care activities. Women take on more responsibilities in caring for their family: 35 % of women care for and educate their family members for at least one hour a day, compared to 31 % of men. Among couples with children, more women (92 %) than men (66 %) are involved in daily care activities. Around 76 % of women compared to 47 % of men do cooking and housework every day for at least one hour. This gender gap is even wider among people in couples with children.

Fewer women (34 %) than men (38 %) participate in sporting, cultural or leisure activities outside the home. Slightly more women (13 %) than men (11 %) are involved in voluntary or charitable activities, with declining levels of engagement for both.

Estonia’s score in the domain of power is 34.6, with progress of 12.1 points since 2005 (+ 6.4 points since 2015). This is the lowest score for Estonia across all domains and ranks 20th in the domain of power in the EU. The increase in score is driven by improvements in the sub-domains of both political and social power, while progress in the sub-domain of economic power has stalled.

The share of women increased significantly in political decision-making. Women comprise 28 % of ministers in Estonia (compared to 14 % in 2005), and 29 % of members of parliament are women (compared to 19 % in 2005). The share of women among members of local councils is 31 %. The share of women on the boards of the largest publicly listed companies decreased from 13 % to 8 % between 2005 and 2018, while the share of women on the board of the central bank increased from 13 % to 18 %.

The share of women among board members of publicly owned broadcasting organisations is 50 %, which is the second highest rate in the EU. Women comprise 14 % of board members of research-funding organisations and just 9 % of board members of the highest decision-making bodies of national Olympic sports organisations.

Estonia’s score in the domain of health is 81.9, with no significant change since 2005 (+ 0.4 points since 2015). Health status has improved in terms of gender equality, while progress has stalled in health services. There is no new data for health behaviour.

The overall level of health satisfaction in Estonia slightly decreased from 51 % to 50 % for women and 57 % to 56 % for men between 2005 and 2017. Health satisfaction increases with a person’s level of education and decreases in proportion to their age. Women with low education levels and women aged 65 or over have even lower levels of health satisfaction, compared to men in the same groups. Both life expectancy and healthy life years increased for both women and men, between 2005 and 2016. Women on average live nine years longer than men (82 years compared to 73 years). On average, women have 59 years and men have 54 years of healthy life (compared to 52 and 48 years in 2005).

Adequate access to medical care has decreased overall while access to dental care has increased since 2005. Around 16 % of women and 11 % of men report unmet medical needs (compared to 9 % in 2005). About 8 % of women and 6 % of men report unmet needs for dental examinations (compared to 16 % and 15 % in 2005). More women and men with disabilities report unmet needs for medical care (22 % and 18 %), compared to those without disabilities (12 % and 8 %).

Why is there no score for the violence domain?

There is no new data to update the score for violence, which is why no figure is given. Eurostat is currently coordinating an EU-wide survey on gender-based violence, with results expected in 2023. EIGE will launch a second round of administrative data collection on intimate partner violence, rape and femicide in 2022. Both data sources will be used to update the domain of violence in the Gender Equality Index 2024. Unlike the other domains of the Index, the domain of violence does not measure differences between women’s and men’s situations; rather, it examines women’s experiences in violence (prevalence, severity and disclosure). The overall objective is not to reduce the gaps in violence between women and men, but to eradicate violence completely.

Data gaps mask the true scale of violence

Istanbul Convention: state of play

The Istanbul Convention is the most comprehensive international human rights treaty on violence against women and domestic violence. Estonia signed the Istanbul Convention in December 2012 and ratified it in October 2017. The treaty entered into force in February 2018.

A lack of evidence to assess violence against women

Violence at a glance

1. Femicide
   In 2018, over 600 women were murdered by an intimate partner, a family member or a relative in 14 EU Member States, according to official reports. Estonia does not provide comparable data on intentional homicide.
   Source: Eurostat, 2018
2. Physical and/or sexual violence
   64 % of women who experienced physical and/or sexual violence, experienced it in their own home.
   9 % of lesbian women  and 4 % of bisexual women were physically or sexually attacked in the past five years for being LGBTI.
   Source: FRA’s Fundamental Rights Survey and LGBTI Survey II, 2019
3. Harassment
   45 % of women experienced harassment in the past five years, and 31 % in the past 12 months.
   45 % of women with disabilities experienced harassment in the past five years, and 30 % in the past 12 months.
   Source: FRA’s Fundamental Rights Survey, 2019
4. Cyberviolence
   15 % of women were subjected to cyber harassment in the past five years, and 10 % in the past 12 months.
   Among women aged 16-29, 32 % experienced cyber harassment in the past five years, and 17 % in the past 12 months.
   Source: FRA’s Fundamental Rights Survey, 2019
5. Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)
   No data available.

Istanbul Convention: state of play

The Istanbul Convention is the most comprehensive international human rights treaty on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence. Estonia signed the Istanbul Convention in December 2014 and ratified it in October 2017. The treaty entered into force in February 2018.

A lack of evidence to assess violence against women

Femicide

In 2020, 788 women were murdered by an intimate partner, a family member or a relative in 17 EU Member States, according to official reports. Estonia does not provide comparable data on intentional homicide.

Source: Eurostat, 2020

Istanbul Convention: state of play

The Istanbul Convention is the most comprehensive international human rights treaty on preventing and combatting violence against women and domestic violence. Estonia signed the Istanbul Convention in December 2014 and ratified it in October 2017. The treaty entered into force in February 2018.

EIGE/FRA survey

The EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) and the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) will carry out a survey on violence against women (VAW II) in eight EU Member States (CZ, DE, IE, CY, LU, HU, RO, SE), which will complement the Eurostat-led data collection on gender-based violence and other forms of interpersonal violence (EU-GBV) in the remaining countries. The use of a unified methodology will ensure the availability of comparable data across all EU Member States. Data collection will be completed in 2023, and the results will be used to update the domain of violence in the Gender Equality Index 2024 and its thematic focus on violence against women.

Tõendite puudumine naistevastase vägivalla hindamiseks

Vägivallast lühidalt

1. Naiste tapmine
   Vastavalt ametlikele teadetele mõrvati 2018. aastal üle 600 naise 14 liikmesriigis intiimpartneri, perekonnaliikme või sugulase poolt. Eesti ei ole esitanud võrdlusandmeid tahtlike tapmiste kohta.
   Allikas: Eurostat, 2018.
2. Füüsiline ja/või seksuaalne vägivald
   64% füüsilist ja/või seksuaalset vägivalda kogenud naistest koges seda oma kodus.
   Viimasel viiel aastal rünnati füüsiliselt või seksuaalselt 9% lesbidest  ja 4% biseksuaalsetest naistest nende LGBTI-sättumuse tõttu.
   Allikas: Euroopa Liidu Põhiõiguste Amet – põhiõiguste uuring ja LGBTI uuring II, 2019
3.  Ahistamine
   Viimasel viiel aastal koges ahistamist 45% naistest ja viimasel 12 kuul 31 %.
   Viimasel viiel aastal koges ahistamist 45% puudega naistest ja viimasel 12 kuul 30%.
   Allikas: Euroopa Liidu Põhiõiguste Amet – põhiõiguste uuring, 2019
4. Kübervägivald
   Viimasel viiel aastal koges kübervägivalda 15% naistest ja viimasel 12 kuul 10%.
   Viimasel viiel aastal koges 16–29 aastastest naistest küberahistamist 32% ja viimasel 12 kuul 17%.
   Allikas: Euroopa Liidu Põhiõiguste Amet – põhiõiguste uuring, 2019
5. Naiste suguelundite moonutamine
   Andmed puuduvad.

Istanbuli konventsioon: hetkeseis

Istanbuli konventsioon on kõige terviklikum naistevastase vägivalla ja perevägivalla ennetamise ja selle vastu võitlemise rahvusvaheline inimõiguste leping. Eesti allkirjastas Istanbuli konventsiooni 2014. aasta detsembris ja ratifitseeris selle 2017. aasta oktoobris. Leping jõustus 2018. aasta veebruaris.

Puuduvad tõendid, et hinnata naistevastast vägivalda

Naiste tapmine

Vastavalt ametlikele teadetele mõrvati 2020. aastal 17 liikmesriigis 788 naist intiimpartneri, perekonnaliikme või sugulase poolt. Eesti ei ole esitanud võrdlusandmeid tahtlike tapmiste kohta.

Allikas: Eurostat, 2020.

Istanbuli konventsioon: hetkeseis

Istanbuli konventsioon on kõige terviklikum naistevastase vägivalla ja perevägivalla ennetamise ja selle vastu võitlemise rahvusvaheline inimõiguste leping. Eesti allkirjastas Istanbuli konventsiooni 2014. aasta detsembris ja ratifitseeris selle 2017. aasta oktoobris. Leping jõustus 2018. aasta veebruaris.

EIGE/FRA uuring

Euroopa Liidu Põhiõiguste Amet (FRA) ja Euroopa Soolise Võrdõiguslikkuse Instituut (EIGE) korraldavad kaheksas ELi liikmesriigis (CZ, DE, IE, CY, LU, HU, RO, SE) naistevastase vägivalla uuringu (VAW II), mis täiendab ülejäänud riikides soolise vägivalla ja muude isikutevahelise vägivalla vormide andmete kogumist, mida juhib Eurostat. Ühtlustatud metoodika kasutamisega tagatakse võrreldavate andmete kättesaadavus kõigis ELi liikmesriikides. Andmete kogumine lõpeb 2023. aastal ja tulemustega ajakohastatakse 2024. aasta soolise võrdõiguslikkuse indeksi vägivalla valdkonda ja selle naistevastase vägivalla teemasuunda.

A lack of evidence to assess violence against women

Femicide

In 2021, 720 women were murdered by an intimate partner, family member or relative in 17 EU Member States, according to official reports. Estonia does not provide comparable data on

Source: Eurostat, 2021

Violence at a glance

1. Intimate partner violence

   In Estonia, 41 % of women who have ever been in a relationship have experienced violence by an intimate partner during their adult life. In total, 22 % have experienced physical violence (including threats) or sexual violence, while 39 % have experienced psychological violence. Around 6 % have experienced intimate partner violence during the last 12 months, while 15 % have experienced it in the last five years.
    

   Source: Eurostat, 2021
    

2. Sexual harassment at work

   In Estonia, around 1 in 3 women who have ever worked have experienced sexual harassment at work. Up to 4 % of women have experienced sexual harassment at work during the last 12 months, while 12 % have experienced it in the last 5 years.
    

   Source: Eurostat, 2021

Istanbul Convention: state of play

The Istanbul Convention is the most comprehensive international human rights treaty on preventing and combatting violence against women and domestic violence. Estonia signed the Istanbul Convention in December 2014 and ratified it in October 2017. The Convention entered into force in Estonia in February 2018.

The European Council approved the EU’s accession to the Istanbul Convention on 1 June 2023.

EIGE/FRA survey on violence against women

The Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) and the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) will carry out a survey on violence against women (VAW II) in eight EU Member States (CZ, DE, IE, CY, LU, HU, RO, SE), which will complement the Eurostat-led data collection on gender-based violence and other forms of interpersonal violence (EU-GBV) in the remaining countries. The use of a unified methodology will ensure the availability of comparable data across all EU Member States. Data collection will be completed this year, and the results will be used to update the domain of violence in the Gender Equality Index 2024, with its thematic focus on violence against women.

Puuduvad tõendid, et hinnata naistevastast vägivalda

Naiste tapmine

Vastavalt ametlikele teadetele mõrvati 2021. aastal 17 liikmesriigis lähisuhtepartneri, perekonnaliikme või sugulase poolt 720 naist. Eesti ei ole esitanud võrdlusandmeid tahtlike naisetapmiste kohta.

Allikas: Eurostat, 2021.

Vägivallast lühidalt

1. Lähisuhtevägivald

   Eestis on 41% naistest, kes on kunagi olnud lähisuhtes, kogenud täiskasvanueas vägivalda lähisuhtepartneri poolt. Kokku 22% on kogenud füüsilist vägivalda (sh ähvardusi) või seksuaalset vägivalda ning 39% on kogenud psühholoogilist vägivalda. Ligikaudu 6% on kogenud lähisuhtevägivalda viimase 12 kuu jooksul ning 15% on seda kogenud viimase viie aasta jooksul.
    

   Allikas: Eurostat, 2021.
    

2. Seksuaalne ahistamine töökohal

   Eestis on umbes iga kolmas naine, kes on kunagi töötanud, kogenud seksuaalset ahistamist töökohal. Kuni 4% naistest on kogenud seksuaalset ahistamist tööl viimase 12 kuu jooksul ning 12% on kogenud seda viimase viie aasta jooksul.
    

   Allikas: Eurostat, 2021.

Istanbuli konventsioon: hetkeseis

Istanbuli konventsioon on kõige terviklikum naistevastase vägivalla ja koduvägivalla ennetamise ja selle vastu võitlemise rahvusvaheline inimõiguste leping. Eesti allkirjastas Istanbuli konventsiooni 2014. aasta detsembris ja ratifitseeris selle 2017. aasta oktoobris. Leping jõustus Eestis 2018. aasta veebruaris.

Euroopa Ülemkogu kiitis ELi ühinemise Istanbuli konventsiooniga heaks 1. juunil 2023.

EIGE/FRA uuring naistevastase vägivalla kohta

Euroopa Liidu Põhiõiguste Amet (FRA) ja Euroopa Soolise Võrdõiguslikkuse Instituut (EIGE) korraldavad kaheksas ELi liikmesriigis (CZ, DE, IE, CY, LU, HU, RO, SE) naistevastase vägivalla uuringu (VAW II), mis täiendab ülejäänud riikides soolise vägivalla ja muude isikutevahelise vägivalla vormide andmete kogumist Eurostati juhtimisel. Ühtlustatud metoodika kasutamisega tagatakse kõigis ELi liikmesriikides võrreldavate andmete kättesaadavus. Andmete kogumine lõpeb sel aastal ja tulemustega ajakohastatakse 2024. aasta soolise võrdõiguslikkuse indeksi vägivalla, eriti naistevastase vägivalla teemasuunda.