PwC´s Women in Work Index: Slovakia improves its position in the OECD ranking

Bratislava, 8 March 2023 – Moving up to 19^th of 33 surveyed OECD countries, Slovakia has improved its position in the ranking in PwC´s Women in Work study, which evaluates the economic and social status of women. Slovakia is in the top twenty for the first time since the survey began, moving up four places from 23rd in the last two years. Within the V4, Slovakia ranks behind Poland (8th) and Hungary (13th), but for the first time is ahead of Czech Republic (24th). 

For the 11th time, PwC´s Women in Work Index surveyed the economic and social position of women in 33 OECD countries. It compares data collected for 2021 with data for previous years since 2000. The five indicators that make up the Women in Work Index are: the gender pay gap, the female employment rate, the female unemployment rate, the female full-time employment rate, and the gap between male and female employment rates.  

Luxembourg tops the PwC´s Women in Work Index that measures the social and economic position of women in the OECD

Luxembourg took the top spot this year, replacing Slovenia in first place. The gender pay gap in Luxembourg stands at 0.5%, the smallest for any OECD country. Slovenia saw a fall from top spot (in 2020) to third.

Women in Work Index – top-ranked countries, and V4 countries’ ranking

In Slovakia, the gender pay gap increased year-on-year

In Slovakia, the gender pay gap worsened year-on-year in 2021, increasing to 17.7% compared to 15.8% in 2020. The average gender pay gap in the OECD countries is currently 14%, meaning the gender pay gap is larger than the OECD average for V4 countries, except Poland. Poland is the best ranked V4 country, with a gap of only 5.4%. Within the OECD countries, the highest gap is recorded by South Korea (31.1%), while the lowest is in Luxembourg (0.5%). 

Slovakia is performing better in women´s participation in management

Regarding women´s participation in management, Slovakia has the highest rate of 27.7% compared to other V4 countries and Slovenia. Hungary´s rate of 9.1% is the lowest in the V4. Within the OECD, Slovakia´s female participation in management is higher than in Luxembourg (24.7%), which took top spot overall. South Korea has the lowest proportion of women in management (8.7%), while second from bottom is shared by Hungary and Estonia (9.1%). The highest female participation on management boards is in Iceland (47.1%), followed by France (45.3%), New Zealand (40.5%) and Norway (40.8%).

Slovakia has the best female employment rate since the OECD survey began

The female employment rate in Slovakia increased from 63.2% in 2000 to 70.6% in 2021. Sweden, Iceland, and the Netherlands have had the highest female employment rate every year, with Iceland at 82.2%, Sweden 80.8% and the Netherlands 80.2% in 2021. Slovenia was fourth overall at 72% and other rankings included Hungary 71.2%, Slovakia 70.6%, Czech Republic 69.6%, and Poland 66.1%. Switzerland, Finland, Estonia, Denmark, and Australia employed over 75% of its female population in 2021.

Increasing female employment rate in Slovakia to match that of Sweden would result in a 3% increase in Slovakia´s GDP by USD 5 billion

If countries with lower female employment rates were able to employ the same proportion of women as in Sweden, they would achieve marked growth in GDP – the highest increases would be in Mexico (26%), Italy (24%) Chile (22%) and Greece (21%), while the V4 countries would record GDP growth from 1% to 4%. 

The overall Women in Work Index in 33 OECD countries slightly increased for 2021, but did not return to pre-pandemic levels

Despite some recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Women in Work Index for 2021 did not reach pre-pandemic levels. The impact of the pandemic on the labour market in the OECD triggered a drop in the Index in 2020. The Women in Work Index shows a slight fall in the unemployment rate for women, from 6.7% to 6.4%, in 2021. However, similar improvements were also evident in male employment rates, suggesting current employment levels are a symptom of general labour market recovery, rather than a step towards greater gender equality. However, the recovery was not at the level needed to return the index to its pre-pandemic growth trajectory, and progress toward gender equality remains too slow. 

PwC´s analysis shows there are remarkable economic gains to be made from closing the gender pay gap. Increasing women´s average wages to match those of their male counterparts across the OECD would boost female earnings by more than USD 2 trillion p.a. However, if the narrowing of the gap continues at this rate, it would take more than 50 years to close the gender pay gap. 

The average gender pay gap across OECD countries widened by 0.6%. In most countries, this seems to be related to labour market recovery after COVID-19, reversing the temporary narrowing of the pay gap observed before the pandemic. Eight countries now have wider gaps than before the pandemic - Slovenia, New Zealand, Estonia, Portugal, Germany, Italy, Israel, and Switzerland. The average gender pay gap in the OECD is now 14%, just 3% lower than a decade ago (17% in 2011).