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The Gender Equality Index score for the EU is 71 out of 100, an improvement of 0.8 pts since 2023 (up 7.9 pts since 2010).
EIGE today reveals its Gender Equality Index 2024 showing the EU is progressing slowly towards a “union of equality”. Against a backdrop of political and economic uncertainty, the agency warns against complacency about these modest gains.
The 2024 Index shows significant variation across Member States, with Sweden achieving the highest score at 82 and Romania the lowest at 57.5. Malta, Czechia, and Lithuania made the greatest gains this year, with respective increases of +2.3, +2.0, and +1.7 pts since 2023.
But eight of the 27 Member States (Czechia, Estonia, Croatia, Latvia, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia) are falling further behind the rest of Europe on the path to gender equality.
And any hard-won gains are fragile. An inclusive and equal EU remains distant and uncertain unless Member States prioritise gender issues amid shifting political and economic agendas.
“Gender equality is the foundation for a stronger Europe. The 2024 Index shows progress is possible, but we’ll only maintain that with bold, sustained action,” says EIGE Director, Carlien Scheele.
“For policymakers and decision-makers in the EU it comes down to the following: to fully commit to gender equality or to let structural inequalities persist. Once and for all, we must realise that gender equality is a solution to our biggest societal challenges. For building stronger and more cohesive societies.”
The Index uses data to inform a detailed understanding across six dimensions of our daily lives: Work, money, knowledge, time, power and health.
Highlights from this year’s edition
- 15 Member States are getting closer to the EU average, but eight countries are moving at a slower pace and falling further behind the rest
- The power domain is the main driver of change (+19.5 pts since 2010 and +2.3 since 2023), reflecting improved gender equality in decision-making
- But the proportion of women MEPs fell for the first time since 1979
- Progress on gender equality in health has been the slowest of all domains (+1.8 pts since 2010), with the health status of both women and men across the EU deteriorating
- Advances in the domain of work have stagnated, with gender gaps most extreme among couples with children
- In the domain of money, gender gaps are growing for those over 50, reflecting the lifelong burden on women of unpaid care responsibilities
- Gender gaps in education favour women: progress in knowledge is driven by higher numbers of graduates, but entrenched segregation remains a bar to substantial progress
- Slow progress in the domain of time (+3.3 pts since 2010) reflects women taking on most unpaid care responsibilities, limiting opportunities for work, self-care, sports, culture, and leisure
The Index highlights how gender-based violence is holding women back in most areas. The Gender Equality Index Thematic Focus, issued in 2025, will reflect up-to-date evidence from the new EU Gender-based violence survey.
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Georgie Bradley
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About EIGE
The European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) produces independent research and shares best practices to promote gender equality and eliminate discrimination based on gender. As the EU agency for gender equality, we help people achieve equal opportunities so everyone can thrive, independent of their gender and background.
About the Gender Equality Index
The Gender Equality Index helps policymakers track and improve gender equality across the EU. It uses data to inform a detailed understanding across six dimensions of our daily lives: Work, money, knowledge, time, power and health. By combining 31 relevant metrics from all Member States, it shows the big picture at a glance.
It allows us to compare between countries, topics, or timescales. By aggregating all this data into a single score, from 1 to 100 (where 100 means full gender equality), it can show where gaps exist and policies are likely to have the most impact.