The pay gap between women and men is almost non-existent in Luxembourg

Several countries among the 38 members of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) have made significant progress in reducing income inequality between men and women.

According to OECD data, taken over by visualcapitalist.com, the lowest pay gap between women and men is found in Luxembourg - only 0.4%, a proportion well below the OECD average of 11.6%. The OECD has taken into account the data for the year 2022, except for Luxembourg, where the figures are for 2020.

The gender pay gap is calculated as the difference between men's and women's average full-time earnings divided by men's average full-time earnings.

According to the data, eight of the top 10 countries with the lowest gender pay gaps are in Europe, as equal employment laws have begun to bear fruit. In second place in the ranking is Belgium, with 1.1%, followed by Costa Rica (1.4%) and Colombia (1.9%). In fifth place we find Ireland, with 2%.

The cited source points out that Luxembourg's virtually non-existent gender pay gap resulted from the country's efforts to prioritize equal pay. Since 2016, companies that have not complied with the rules regarding equal remuneration in the Labor Code have been subject to punitive fines between 251 and 25,000 euros.

At the same time, the higher rates of education among women contribute to the reduction of the wage gap, Luxembourg being in first place in the ranking of the educational level in the Global Report of the gender gap, carried out by the World Economic Forum for the year 2023.