Employment gaps for women and people with disabilities

In 2024, employment inequalities linked to disability, gender and origin were recorded in the EU. The gender employment gap in the EU was 10.0 percentage points (pp), with an employment rate of 80.8% for men and 70.8% for women. The gap was 0.2 pp lower than in 2023 and 1.1 pp lower compared with 2014.

The gender employment gap was particularly pronounced in the foreign-born population, where the difference in employment rates reached 18.1 pp. Employment rate for foreign-born men was 83.1%, compared with 65.0% for women. Foreign-born women also experienced employment rates 15.7 pp lower than native-born women.

Especially striking was the employment gap between people with and without disabilities, amounting to 24.0 pp.

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Source datasets: hlth_dlm200, sdg_05_30 and lfsa_erganedm

This news article marks EU Diversity Month 2025, which raises awareness about the importance of diversity and inclusion in the workplace and across our societies.

For more information

• Thematic section on employment and unemployment
• Database on employment and unemployment
• Equality in the EU - a snapshot infographic

Methodological notes

• The employment gap between men and women in the overall population and the overall population and people with disabilities refers to the age group 20-64.
• The employment gap between foreign-born men and women and foreign-born and native-born women refers to the age group 25-54.

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