By Dr. Tim Sandle
March 5, 2025
DIGITAL JOURNAL
Engineer Nouf Wazir is pictured in front of a waste management facility under construction in the Gulf emirate of Sharjah - Copyright AFP/File Kazuhiro NOGI
For every 100 men promoted to manager, only 81 women received the same promotion in 2024. At this rate, it will take nearly 50 years to achieve gender parity for all women in the workplace.
To provide transparency for the fifth year – ahead of International Women’s Day (8th March 2025) the digital PR agency Reboot Online analysed the year-on-year change in leadership and employment growth, alongside the Global Gender Gap report and maternity leave rate for each European country.
The results have been shared with Digital Journal and the results do not make good reading for the UK. Women in the UK are only the 10th most likely to be successful when analysing year-on-year growth (a score of 7.72 out of 10). Instead, Lithuania places first.
Data came from several sources including the European Institute for Gender Equality, the Global Gender Gap Report 2024, and via the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
In terms of the top three nations:Lithuania
Lithuania is the best country in Europe for women to work in 2025. With a total gender equality score of 8.54 out of 10, the country moved up from seventh place in last year’s rankings.
Lithuania has reported the highest growth in women in leadership positions over the past five years – the fourth highest overall. In 2024, Lithuania reported the highest number of female CEOs of any European country. Although their total number of non-CEOs is average for Europe, the recent increase in representation boosts them up the rankings.
Lithuania’s maternity leave sits comfortably in the top 10 in Europe, with just over 52 weeks of pay at full rate. The percentage of women in employment is also high, resulting in a score of 8.1 out of 10 – however, the growth of women in employment over the past five years is lower than average.Norway
With the Nordic countries dominating the top 10, Norway is ranked the second-best country for women to work in 2025. Its high ranking can be attributed to a large percentage of female executives and board members in its largest listed companies – resulting in a normalised score of 7.78 out of 10 and placing Norway third overall in Europe.
Norway also ranks third overall in the Global Gender Gap Index (8.75/10), evaluating various indicators including Work and Economic Participation, Educational Attainment, Health and Survival, and Political Empowerment, serving as a comprehensive measure of gender equality.Netherlands
Moving up from fourth place last year, the Netherlands placed third with a total gender equality score of 8.54 out of 10. A huge percentage of women are in work according to the European Institute for Gender Equality, with a normalised score of 9.47 out of 10 – the second highest in all of Europe, behind only Iceland. Despite ranking average in the Global Gender Gap Index, their stats for women in the workforce are stronger than most other countries.
Cyprus is the country with the least economic opportunities for women
Cyprus is in last place for European nations, with a score of 6.21 out of 10. Its low score can be attributed to the lack of women in leadership positions (1.36/10) and their below-average full-pay maternity leave (15 weeks).
Second to last is Luxembourg with 6.59 out of 10 – seeing struggles in the five-year growth of women in work and the number of women in leadership. Following is Belgium (6.75), Malta (6.79) and Italy (6.85).
The overall results suggest that there has been some progress with gender equality in the workplace – especially across the past five years, as shown by the growth scores for Lithuania, Norway and the Netherlands.
Yet there are still hurdles in order to tackle the wage gap, lack of leadership representation, government incentives and work-life balance when it comes to gender representation and proportionality.
Engineer Nouf Wazir is pictured in front of a waste management facility under construction in the Gulf emirate of Sharjah - Copyright AFP/File Kazuhiro NOGI
For every 100 men promoted to manager, only 81 women received the same promotion in 2024. At this rate, it will take nearly 50 years to achieve gender parity for all women in the workplace.
To provide transparency for the fifth year – ahead of International Women’s Day (8th March 2025) the digital PR agency Reboot Online analysed the year-on-year change in leadership and employment growth, alongside the Global Gender Gap report and maternity leave rate for each European country.
The results have been shared with Digital Journal and the results do not make good reading for the UK. Women in the UK are only the 10th most likely to be successful when analysing year-on-year growth (a score of 7.72 out of 10). Instead, Lithuania places first.
Data came from several sources including the European Institute for Gender Equality, the Global Gender Gap Report 2024, and via the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
In terms of the top three nations:Lithuania
Lithuania is the best country in Europe for women to work in 2025. With a total gender equality score of 8.54 out of 10, the country moved up from seventh place in last year’s rankings.
Lithuania has reported the highest growth in women in leadership positions over the past five years – the fourth highest overall. In 2024, Lithuania reported the highest number of female CEOs of any European country. Although their total number of non-CEOs is average for Europe, the recent increase in representation boosts them up the rankings.
Lithuania’s maternity leave sits comfortably in the top 10 in Europe, with just over 52 weeks of pay at full rate. The percentage of women in employment is also high, resulting in a score of 8.1 out of 10 – however, the growth of women in employment over the past five years is lower than average.Norway
With the Nordic countries dominating the top 10, Norway is ranked the second-best country for women to work in 2025. Its high ranking can be attributed to a large percentage of female executives and board members in its largest listed companies – resulting in a normalised score of 7.78 out of 10 and placing Norway third overall in Europe.
Norway also ranks third overall in the Global Gender Gap Index (8.75/10), evaluating various indicators including Work and Economic Participation, Educational Attainment, Health and Survival, and Political Empowerment, serving as a comprehensive measure of gender equality.Netherlands
Moving up from fourth place last year, the Netherlands placed third with a total gender equality score of 8.54 out of 10. A huge percentage of women are in work according to the European Institute for Gender Equality, with a normalised score of 9.47 out of 10 – the second highest in all of Europe, behind only Iceland. Despite ranking average in the Global Gender Gap Index, their stats for women in the workforce are stronger than most other countries.
Cyprus is the country with the least economic opportunities for women
Cyprus is in last place for European nations, with a score of 6.21 out of 10. Its low score can be attributed to the lack of women in leadership positions (1.36/10) and their below-average full-pay maternity leave (15 weeks).
Second to last is Luxembourg with 6.59 out of 10 – seeing struggles in the five-year growth of women in work and the number of women in leadership. Following is Belgium (6.75), Malta (6.79) and Italy (6.85).
The overall results suggest that there has been some progress with gender equality in the workplace – especially across the past five years, as shown by the growth scores for Lithuania, Norway and the Netherlands.
Yet there are still hurdles in order to tackle the wage gap, lack of leadership representation, government incentives and work-life balance when it comes to gender representation and proportionality.
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