EU reveals that gender inequalities are more ‘pronounced’ in Irish workplaces

Just 10pc of female workers aged 16-74 managed to get out of the house for sporting, cultural or leisure activities at least daily or more than weekly last year, according to the survey.

That compares with 24pc of men in Ireland and 29pc of women elsewhere in the EU.

The figure has fallen significantly over the last decade and when compared with pre-pandemic (2020) levels, while the gap between Irish women and men is more than twice that in the EU.

As a result, Ireland’s overall gender equality score has fallen by 1.3 points to 73.0 since 2020 – the largest decline among the EU’s 27 countries.

The European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) released the figures on Tuesday. The index uses a scale of 1 to 100, where 1 stands for total inequality and 100 for total equality. The data was drawn from Eurostat and EIGE surveys.

Ireland’s ranking has dropped two places since the last index, with the country now in ninth place in the EU.

Ireland’s score was three points behind the EU average of 70.2, and nine points behind Sweden, which scored highest with 82.2.

“Over the years, the EU has made progress towards gender equality, but we are also aware that it is not enough, and gains are fragile,” said EIGE director Carlien Scheele. “Today, only Sweden, with a score above 80 points in the index, is inching closer to gender equality. Sweden only represents 2pc of the EU population.”

The Netherlands, Denmark, Spain, Belgium, France, Luxembourg and Finland also came ahead of Ireland.

The lowest scores were recorded in Romania (56.1), Hungary (57.3), the Czech Republic (57.9), Greece (58.0) and Slovakia (59.2).

Less time spent outside the home was the main reason for Ireland sliding down the index. But progress has also stalled in health, work and money.

Despite the setback in heath – which is measured by personal perceptions of health, life expectancy and access to medical care, among other things – Ireland scores best in this area and ranks first in the EU.

But EIGE, the EU’s gender equality watchdog, said gender inequalities in Ireland are “pronounced” in the workplace, where the country ranks 12th in the bloc.

The differences are largely due to “segregation” in work, with four times as many women as men employed in education, health and social work activities in 2021, and more than twice as many women studying similar subjects at third level compared with men.

Ireland’s overall gender equality score has improved over the last decade, with more women now on the boards of private and public organisations, including the Central Bank and RTÉ, compared to other EU countries.

However, Ireland scores poorly in the number of female ministers, parliamentarians and women in local government.

A special study has found that both women and men in Ireland are less likely to choose low-carbon modes of transport than their counterparts in the EU, and that lone parents, non-EU migrants, and people with disabilities struggle the most to afford energy here.

Women are underrepresented in the energy and transport sectors in Ireland and in decision-making, EIGE said. No score is given to Ireland in the domain of violence, due to a lack of comparable EU-wide data.