Women in science and engineering in the EU rise to 7.9 million in 2024

Brussels – The long‑standing goal of opening up professions traditionally seen as “male” to women is increasingly becoming a reality. The latest estimates from Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, confirm that in the EU, a growing number of women are working in science and engineering. The figures show a steady increase: from 3.4 million in 2008, to 5.2 million in 2014, and 7.9 million women employed in science and engineering in 2024. 

Estimates released by Eurostat show that in 2024, women in engineering and science in the European Union accounted for 40.5 per cent of the total workforce, with peaks knowledge-intensive services (45.1 per cent) and services (45.0 per cent). The proportion was lower in the manufacturing sector, where women accounted for 22.4 per cent of scientists and engineers. 

Among Member States, the percentage of women scientists and engineers varies considerably, with the highest proportions recorded in Latvia (50.9 per cent), Denmark (48.8 per cent), and Estonia (47.9 per cent). Latvia is the only Member State where the proportion of women in science and engineering (50.9 per cent) exceeds that of men, standing 10.4 percentage points above the EU average. On the other hand, the lowest representation of women scientists and engineers was found in Finland (30.7 per cent), followed by Hungary (31.7 per cent) and Luxembourg (32.4 per cent). The number of female scientists and engineers in Italy is below the EU average, at around 38 percentage points. 

At regional level, female scientists and engineers are mostly in 10 EU regions: in four regions of Spain (the Canary Islands with 58.8 per cent, Centro with 52.5 per cent, Noroeste with 52.4 per cent and Sur with 50.3 per cent); in two regions of Portugal (Região Autónoma dos Açores with 57.3 per cent and Madeira with 56.4 per cent); the same number of Polish regions (Makroregion Centralny with 54.8 per cent and Makroregion Wschodni with 54.0 per cent), one Bulgarian region (Severna i yugoiztochna in Bulgaria with 53.3 per cent) and one Swedish region (Norra Sverige in Sweden with 52.0 per cent). The Italian region with the highest percentage is Central Italy, with 38.0 per cent, followed by the islands at 37.5 per cent, the North-West at 34.9 per cent, the North-East at 34.6 per cent, and finally Southern Italy with 31.1 per cent.