Why Does Europe’s Health Sector Still Pay Women Less? Silvia C. Carpallo

https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/why-does-europes-health-sector-still-pay-women-less-2026a10014bq Despite the growing number of women in healthcare, the gender-based pay gap remains. A recent World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Europe report found that women in the health and social care sector earn 19% less per hour than men and 28% less per month. The report analyzed data from 43 countries and found that women account for nearly 77% of the health and social care workforce in the WHO EU Region. The pay gap also widens substantially at higher-income levels. In lower-paying positions, women earn approximately 2% less per hour than men, whereas in higher-paying positions, the gap approaches 23%. Although women’s education and experience would theoretically qualify them to earn slightly more than men in higher-paying positions, they earn less in practice.