Lithuania makes progress in gender equality but still trails EU average

VILNIUS - Lithuania has improved its gender equality ranking but remains below the European Union average, according to a report published by the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) on Tuesday.

Lithuania climbed from 17th to 16th place in the Gender Equality Index, scoring 65.8 out of a possible 100 points. However, this is still 5.2 points below the EU average.

Malta, the Czech Republic and Lithuania have made the most progress since last year, according to the report.

The index measures gender gaps between women and men in six core domains: work, money, knowledge, time, power, and health.

The Office of the Equal Opportunities Ombudsperson noted in a press release that Lithuania performs best in the domain of work, ranking 15th with a score of 76.2 points. This is the only area where the country slightly exceeds the EU average of 74.2 points.

Within this domain, Lithuania stands out for its high labor market participation rates for men and women but scores lower when measuring occupational segregation and the quality of working conditions.

"The data shows that while the balance between women's and men's participation in the labor market is rather good, conditions differ considerably," Migle Kolinyte, senior advisor at the Office of the Equal Opportunities Ombudsperson, said in the press release.

"Indicators measuring equality at work show that there are still 'male' and 'female' occupations, and that employers fail to provide women and men with the same flexibility to leave work for a few hours to attend to family matters," she added.

Lithuania's weakest performance, as last year, remains in the domain of money, where the country's score edged down from 71.2 to 70.9 points over the year, reflecting wage gaps and a higher poverty risk for women.

"According to data from Sodra, the gender pay gap has remained relatively steady at around 13 percent over the past couple of years. However, it varies by age group. For instance, the gap is particularly pronounced between the ages of 31 and 40," Kolinyte said.

"We can assume that this is related to family formation, as this is a typical period for starting a family, raising children, and the resulting career breaks, which are mostly experienced by women," she noted.

The only domain where the index shows a disadvantage for men in Lithuania is education. Lithuania is one of four countries with the largest gap between highly educated men and women.

Kolinyte said this gap may be linked to gender-based segregation and differing professional requirements.

"The data fits in with the often-mentioned statistics on occupational segregation, where male-dominated fields are more likely to offer employment without a university degree. Examples include construction, technical work, programming and other information technologies. These are professions where skills are prioritized," the advisor said.

"Meanwhile, female-dominated sectors are more likely to require a diploma, even if they are lower paid, such as nursing, teaching, and social work. This could explain why fewer men pursue further education after high school," she said.

The European Gender Equality Index also measures the power domain, which looks at the representation of women and men in political leadership and gender balance on the boards of major companies and public interest organizations. Lithuania scored 55.5 points in the domain this year, ranking 16th among European countries. This assessment was conducted before the 2024 parliamentary election.

Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands remain at the top of the Gender Equality Index, while Greece, Hungary and Romania are this year's lowest-ranking countries.