According to a report from Euronews, full gender equality across the European Union remains a distant prospect, estimated to be at least five decades away. This outlook persists despite acknowledged advancements in women’s representation in leadership and a narrowing pay gap.

A primary area of concern is the disparity in pension benefits. Data from 2024 indicates that the average pension for women aged 65 and over in the EU was one quarter lower than that for men. This gap was most pronounced in Malta, where women’s pensions were approximately 40% lower, followed by the Netherlands and Austria.

In contrast, the smallest average pension gaps were recorded in Estonia, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and Hungary. A review of median pension figures reveals a similar EU-wide disparity of nearly 25%. Luxembourg, Spain, and the Netherlands exhibited the largest gaps using this metric, while Estonia, Hungary, and Denmark showed near parity or a slight advantage for women.

Beyond pension amounts, older women face a significantly higher risk of poverty compared to men. In 2024, the at-risk-of-poverty rate for women 65 and over in the EU was 5.6 percentage points higher than for men. This disadvantage was particularly acute in Malta, Lithuania, Austria, and Portugal. Only five member states—Luxembourg, Sweden, Denmark, Belgium, and Slovenia—reported a higher poverty risk for older men.

The gender disparity in poverty risk is notably wider among the population aged 65 and over compared to those under 65 at the EU level. This pattern was especially stark in Portugal, Lithuania, Ireland, and Bulgaria. However, the opposite trend was observed in several countries, including Luxembourg, Slovenia, Denmark, Germany, and France, where younger women face a greater relative disadvantage in poverty risk compared to their male peers than older women do.

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