In 2006, 44% of all those employed in the EU27 were women. The share varied greatly between the Member States, ranging from 32% in Malta to 50% in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. However, in the hotels and restaurants sector there were more women than men employed, with a share of women of 56% in the EU27. The relative size of the female work force was higher in this sector than in the overall economy in all Member States, except for Malta. In the tourist accommodation sector, which includes hotels and other short-stay accommodation, the share of women was even higher, at 62%.
In 22 Member States the share of women in the hotels and restaurants sector was 50% or more. The highest shares were found in the Baltic states with 95% in Latvia, 83% in Lithuania and 76% in Estonia. In four Member States, Malta (28%), Greece (44%), Italy and France (both 49%), there were fewer women than men working in hotels and restaurants.
Smallest differences in average earnings between women and men in Belgium, Denmark, Malta and Finland
In all the Member States, for which data are available, annual average gross earnings for women were lower than for men. This was the case both in industry and market services and in the hotels and restaurants sector. However, the differences observed in average earnings do not necessarily reflect a gap in pay between women and men, since women and men do not occupy the same jobs.
The smallest difference between women and men in the hotels and restaurants sector in 2005 was found in Belgium, where women earned 93% of their male colleagues' annual average gross earnings, followed by Denmark, Malta (in 2003) and Finland (all 87%), Bulgaria and Sweden (both 86%). The largest difference was registered in Hungary (62%), followed by Slovakia (70%) and Cyprus (73% in 2004).
