Almost a third of women with a young child work part-time

On the occasion of International Women's Day on 8 March 2013, Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, published a selection of data on women in employment and on reconciliation of work and family life.

But the statistics also cast a shadow on Malta's low rate of female participation in the workforce especially in managerial positions.

Highest proportion of female managers in Latvia, Hungary and France

In 2011, a third of managers in the EU27 were women. There were fewer female than male managers in all Member States, with the highest proportions of female managers recorded in 2011 in Latvia (45%), Hungary (41%) and France (40%), and the lowest in Cyprus (15%), Greece (23%) and Malta (24%).

More female than male teachers in primary and upper secondary education...

Women dominate the teaching profession, particularly in primary education. There are significantly more female than male teachers at primary education level in all Member States. In 2011, 85% of primary education teachers in the EU27 were women, with the highest percentages in the Czech Republic and Slovenia (both 97%), Italy, Lithuania and Hungary (all 96%), and the lowest in Denmark (69%), Luxembourg (74% in 2010) and Spain (75%).

While there are also more female than male teachers at upper secondary education level in the EU27, the pattern is less pronounced. In 2011, the proportion of female teachers at upper secondary level was 59%, with the highest percentages in Latvia (80%), Lithuania (79%) and Bulgaria (78%), and the lowest in Malta (43%), Germany, Spain, Luxembourg and the Netherlands (all 50%).

...but fewer female than male academic staff in tertiary education

On the other hand, at tertiary education level there are fewer female than male academic staff (which includes lecturers and researchers) in the EU27. In 2011 the proportion of female academic staff was 40% in the EU27, with the highest percentages in Latvia (59%), Lithuania (55%) and Finland (50%), and the lowest in Malta (30%), the Czech Republic, France and Italy (all 36%).

Highest proportion of female physicians in the Baltic Member States

In 2010, 45% of physicians in the EU27 were women, compared with 38% in 2001. In 2010, the highest proportions were found in Estonia and Latvia (both 74%), Lithuania (70%) and Romania (69%), and the lowest in Luxembourg (30% in 2011), Belgium (36%), Italy and Malta (both 37%).