Women earn 11.5% less than men in STEM careers, study reveals
Women across Europe continue to be penalised by the gender pay gap, earning on average 11.5% less than their male counterparts, with disparities varying widely between countries. As International Day of Women and Girls in Science approaches on the 11th of February, engineering experts at Accu sought to identify where women in STEM are best supported across Europe.
Their analysis assesses key indicators, including women’s representation in STEM occupations, the proportion of women among STEM graduates, the share of tertiary-educated women employed in STEM roles, and national gender pay gaps, providing a comparative picture of how effectively different countries enable women to enter, remain, and progress in STEM careers.
Key findings:
- Sweden is Europe’s best country for women in STEM, scoring 9.06/10.
- Ireland follows in second place (8.56/10) with a high proportion of women employed in ICT and engineering roles compared to the European average.
- The UK ranks 28th with the highest gender pay gap in Europe (19.8% below men’s earnings)
- Hungary is Europe’s worst country for women in STEM, scoring 4.56/10.
The best countries in Europe for women in STEM
International Day of Women and Girls in Science – 11th February
| Rank | Country | Women as % of labour force | Women among STEM graduates (%) | Tertiary-educated women employed in STEM (%) | Gender pay gap (% below men’s earnings) | Total Score (/10) | ||
| Information and Communication Technology (ICT) | Science & Technology | Engineering | ||||||
| 1 | Sweden | 24.0 | 51.3 | 12.8 | 37.8 | 41.0 | 11.2 | 9.06 |
| 2 | Ireland | 24.4 | 42.4 | 12.7 | 36.0 | 36.2 | 8.6 | 8.56 |
| 3 | Iceland | 18.6 | 48.4 | 11.7 | 43.3 | 36.6 | 9.8 | 8.21 |
| 4 | Estonia | 27.6 | 43.7 | 9.5 | 41.5 | 34.5 | 16.9 | 8.19 |
| 5 | Norway | 21.3 | 47.1 | 13.7 | 29.7 | 39.8 | 12.8 | 8.05 |
| 6 | Denmark | 21.2 | 45.8 | 11.6 | 35.1 | 35.1 | 14 | 7.94 |
| 7 | Slovenia | 19.2 | 44.6 | 9.1 | 33.0 | 34.6 | 5.4 | 7.79 |
| 8 | Portugal | 22.7 | 34.7 | 9.6 | 36.5 | 28.3 | 8.6 | 7.66 |
| 9 | Poland | 17.5 | 44.4 | 9.7 | 39.0 | 36.0 | 7.8 | 7.61 |
| 10 | Belgium | 19.0 | 44.3 | 10.0 | 28.7 | 37.6 | 0.7 | 7.54 |
| European Average | 19.6 | 41.2 | 8.7 | 34.2 | 31.9 | 11.5 | ||
Please find the full dataset here.
Sweden is Europe’s best country for women in STEM
Sweden ranks first overall with a score of 9.06/10. In Sweden, women account for 24% of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) specialists and 51.3% of the science and technology workforce. Tertiary-educated women employed in STEM also exceed typical European levels with 41%, second only to Luxembourg. Sweden’s gender pay gap is on par with the European average at 11.2% below men’s earnings.
Ireland ranks second for women in STEM
Women account for 24.4% of ICT specialists, 42.4% of the science and technology workforce, and 12.8% of engineers in Ireland, exceeding the median for all three sectors. Tertiary-educated women make up 36% of those employed in STEM, while the gender pay gap stands at 8.6%, notably lower than the European average of 11.5%, contributing to Ireland’s high overall score of 8.56/10.
Iceland has the highest number of women graduating in STEM
In Iceland, women comprise 48.4% of the science and technology workforce and 43.3% of tertiary-educated employees in STEM, both of which are well above the respective averages. While women account for a lower 18.6% of ICT specialists, this is offset by a relatively small gender pay gap of 9.8%.
Hungary is Europe’s worst country for women in STEM
| Rank | Country | Women as % of labour force | Women among STEM graduates (%) | Tertiary-educated women employed in STEM (%) | Gender pay gap (% below men’s earnings) | Score (/10) | ||
| Information and Communication Technology (ICT) | Science & Technology | Engineering | ||||||
| 35 | Hungary | 15.2 | 42.4 | 5.1 | 28.7 | 29.6 | 17.8 | 4.56 |
| 34 | Slovakia | 17.2 | 38.8 | 4.9 | 32.1 | 25.5 | 15.7 | 4.58 |
| 33 | Czechia | 13.0 | 41.2 | 7.3 | 36.1 | 23.8 | 18 | 5.21 |
| 32 | Greece | 16 | 29.7 | 7.6 | 41.1 | 25.3 | 13.6 | 5.82 |
| 31 | Italy | 17.1 | 34.5 | 4.0 | 39.5 | 22.9 | ||
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