Greece Ranks Last in EU Gender Pay Gap

The year 2022 has seen multiple challenges and crises come to life including a rising cost of living, increased rent, climate emergency, the ongoing pandemic, and slow progress in gender parity. 

Global leaders are facing a series of economic and political shocks with the fear of reversal in the gender pay gap escalating.

Millions of girls and women around the world are losing access and opportunities in their fields with this pattern setting grounds for catastrophe for the future of economies, societies, and communities.

Greece Ranks Last in Gender Pay Gap

According to a report by the European Institute for Gender Equality, Greece scored 53.4 out of 100 points, ranking last in the EU, with its score 15.2 points below the EU average on the Gender Equality Index. 

While Greece’s score has increased by 4.8 points since 2010, its ranking has remained the same, and other countries have progressed more rapidly. Since 2019, Greece’s score has slightly increased by 0.9 points, mainly due to improvements in the domains of power and health.

Europe’s Rankings

Europe has the second-highest level of gender parity, currently standing at 76.6 percent.

Based on the constant set of 102 countries covered in the index since 2006, the region recorded a marginal improvement of 0.2 percentage points compared to last year, resulting in a sixty-year wait to close the gap. Iceland, Finland, and Norway hold the top ranks globally and, in the region while Romania, Cyprus, and Greece come last in the regional rankings, according to the Global Gender Gap Report 2022. 

Global Gender Pay Gap

On a global scale, the gender gap has been closed by 68.1 percent in 2022, and, at its current rate of progress, the findings suggest that it will take 132 years to reach full parity. This emphasizes a four-year improvement in comparison to 2021 at which time the estimate was 136 years to parity.

The Global Gender Gap Report 2022 stated, “Accelerating parity must be a core part of the public and private agenda.”

Even though more and more women have been joining the workforce over the decades and claiming leadership positions, certain factors such as societal expectations and employer policies have limited opportunities for women to excel.

The pandemic and geopolitical conflict have resumed progress and worsened results for women in the workforce, creating a risk of forming a permanent scarring in the labor market.

The report highlighted: “This year’s Global Gender Gap Report findings serve as a tool for leaders to identify areas for individual and collection action. Widening work-related gender gaps increase the need for social and worker protection, re-skilling and reintegration opportunities, strengthened care infrastructure, strengthening female leadership in industries where women are underrepresented, and a more proactive approach to preparing the ground for gender parity in the growing industries of the future.”