There is still no absolute gender equality, not only in Europe but worldwide. Although there has been a slow convergence in many parts of Europe in recent decades, a gap remains. Looking at the index evaluation, it get’s clear that the gender gap is widest in Turkey, Hungary and Czechia, while the gap is smallest in the Scandinavian countries. What factors play a role in the divergence or, conversely, the slow convergence?
The pill changed everything
What seems absurd at first glance has been scientifically proven. The invention of the contraceptive pill meant that women were no longer faced with the potential time bomb of pregnancy when it came to vocational training and later career planning, for example, but could also choose courses of study with a longer training period (source: Goldin, Claudia; Katz, Lawrence F. (2002). ‘The Power of the Pill: Contraception and Women’s Career and Marriage Decisions’. Journal of Political Economy . 110 (4)).
Education and career
In 1965, only five per cent of students in the United States were female. By 1985, female students accounted for 35 per cent of law students and 40 per cent of medical students (source: Goldin, Claudia and Lawrence F. Katz. ‘On The Pill: Changing the Course of Women’s Education’. The Milken Institute Review, Second Quarter 2001: p. 3).
Interestingly, the number of female students in Germany exceeded the number of male students in 2024. Female students accounted for 50.92 per cent of students, while the percentage of male students was 49.08 per cent (source: hsi-monitor / destatis). However, there are differences depending on the subject area. In the so-called STEM subjects, the gap is particularly wide. In Germany, the proportion of women in 2024 was only 32 per cent (source: Statista).
Gender pay gap
The change in training behaviour naturally also leads to shifts in the world of work. However, in practice, these shifts are still largely ineffective. The gender pay gap remains a major issue. The fact that care work is predominantly performed by women contributes significantly to this. Care work includes unpaid and paid care and nursing activities, from looking after children and relatives in need of care to professional activities such as those performed by educators or geriatric nurses.
Since family care work is significantly more often performed by women, women take parental leave more frequently and for longer periods and are more likely to work part-time — with noticeable disadvantages for their professional development. This effect is particularly pronounced in countries with closer family structures (e.g. Southern and South-Eastern Europe) than in countries with less strong family ties. While in Italy only 1.3 per cent of people over the age of 65 lived in a care home and 98.7 per cent were cared for at home, mainly by female family members (source: thomas-daily), the figure in Germany was 14 per cent (source: altenpflege-online). Easier access to institutional child- or elderly care, makes it easier to balance work and family life and has a positive effect on women’s employment.
In addition, professions associated with care work are often among the lowest paid, and at the same time, it is precisely these professions that are disproportionately often performed by women, which further exacerbates gender-specific income disparities.
Women in politics
The gender gap in politics has the same causes as the gender gap in many professions – politics was long a male domain and is still traditionally male-dominated today. However, female politicians also face public discrimination. The nickname ‘Flinten-Uschi’ (Uschi the Shotgun) and the question of whether tanks should be painted pink accompanied Ursula von der Leyen during her time as defence minister. Who was hiding behind ‘Mutti’ will be known in this country for generations to come. Margret Thatcher, once Prime Minister of Great Britain, was nicknamed the ‘Iron Lady’. It is questionable whether a male prime minister who had adopted her policies one-to-one would have been called the ‘Iron Sir’ or whether that would have been considered normal. The former co-chair of the Green Party, Ricarda Lang, was not taken seriously at all by her political opponents, but was discriminated against solely on the basis of her appearance.
Conclusion
Although progress in gender equality is visible, it is often small and unevenly distributed. The causes remain similar: women take on the majority of care work, are more likely to work in low-paid jobs and encounter traditional role models in the workplace and in politics. Even though there are regional differences and positive developments, there is still much to be done. True equality will only be achieved if a shift in social attitudes, political measures and investment in care infrastructure go hand in hand.
