Working women in the European Union (EU) earn on average 13% less than men for the same job. Only in Luxembourg is the average gross salary of women and men the same, and there is even a slight lead in favor of the fairer sex. This was stated for BTA by Iliana Balabanova, president of the European Women's Lobby (EWL) and chairwoman and founder of the Bulgarian EWL platform. The average gross annual salary of women in Bulgaria is about 20% lower than that of men, and the difference remains relatively constant from 2008 to 2022, she commented. The average gross salary of women in our country represents between 79% and 82% of the salary of men, added Balabanova.
The findings are from a study by the Bulgarian EWL Platform, prepared by a research team of the “Zangador“ Institute and covers statistics for the period 2008-2022. Balabanova noted that the results confirm the trend for the average gross annual salary of women to be lower than that of men for the economy as a whole.
Women in Bulgaria and why there is only one lady in the government
The sectors with the largest differences are finance and insurance, human health and social work, culture and sports, manufacturing, etc. Large differences are also reported in the sector of creation and dissemination of information and creative products. The smallest differences in pay between women and men are found in agriculture and forestry, production and distribution of electricity and heat, transport, public administration, etc.
In two economic activities, women's incomes are higher than those of men, Balabanova summarized. In administrative and auxiliary activities, the average gross annual salary of women is 101-121% of that of men. In construction, the average gross annual salary of women is 98-113% of that of men, the expert noted.
One of the economic activities in which the differences in the average gross annual salary increase in the period 2008-2022 is the hotel and restaurant industry. There, the average gross annual salary of women decreases from 84% of that of men in 2008 to 79% in 2022, the analysis shows. The other such sector is financial and insurance activities, where the average gross annual salary of women decreased from 71% of that of men in 2008 to 61% in 2022.
The economic activities in which the differences in the average gross annual salary between men and women decreased in the period 2008-2022 are: production and distribution of electricity and heat and gaseous fuels; transport, storage and post; education.
In addition to the topic of pay, the Bulgarian Platform of the EJL also examines the rights and role of women in our country in making decisions on economic and social issues, including climate change. The organization reacted to the fact that in the "Zhelyazkov" government; there is only one female minister - Temenuzhka Petkova. After the cabinet was elected in January, the Platform also issued an open letter asking why there was only one woman in the government. Balabanova commented to BTA that this was perceived as a “classic patriarchal model of governance“. We emphasized that with a single woman in the cabinet, Bulgarian women could not expect that their interests and problems would be taken into account and protected, she said. In the 66th cabinet of Bulgaria, which governed our country in the period 1947-1949, there was also only one woman, i.e. 75 years later we are again in the same situation, Balabanova also commented.
Women in Bulgaria remain underrepresented in economic decision-making, with statistics showing that the share of women on the boards of directors of the largest publicly listed companies has decreased from 19% in 2023 to 18% in 2024, the expert said. According to her, this is 16 percentage points lower than the EU average.
Trends in Europe and the Equality Index
“Despite some improvements, women in Europe still suffer from gender gaps in terms of wages, labor force participation, employment and hierarchical positions in the workplace“, commented Balabanova. And she pointed out that the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) provides valuable information and analysis on gender equality in the EU by publishing the annual “EU Equality Index“ The index measures gender gaps between women and men in six main areas - work, money, education, time, power and health, and consists of 31 indicators, she explained. The index uses a scale from 1 to 100, where 1 means complete inequality and 100 for complete equality.
“If full gender equality is measured at 100, the current level in the EU is 71 points, which is considered slow progress. Compared to 2023, an increase of a negligible 0.8 points is reported“, explained Balabanova. Bulgaria in this Index receives 64.5 points out of 100 for gender equality, or 6.5 points below the EU score, she commented.
The index also shows that women's employment in the EU has increased, but the gender pay gap is still very obvious, noted the president of the European Women's Lobby. Balabanova said that there is still an opinion that women are the ones who should take care of children and the home, which, she said, hinders their professional development. “Nearly one in three women who are outside the EU workforce but want to work say that this is due to care responsibilities they have to take on“, the expert commented.
Gender stereotypes and sexism
One of the topics we are currently working on is gender stereotypes and sexism in Bulgaria, said Iliana Balabanova. A study is pending on signals for the Council for Electronic Media (CEM) regarding one of the reality formats on the Bulgarian airwaves. The EJL is also monitoring the harmonization of our legislation with the EU Directive against violence against women and domestic violence adopted in 2024.
Since January 2025, we have been working on a project “Skills and capacity to uphold the right to equality”. Over the next 10 months, we will develop training modules to build capacity and knowledge on maternity rights and protection from gender-based violence among our organizations – members, activists, partners and supporters, said Balabanova. In this way, we will consolidate knowledge in two important areas of equality law, build skills to deal with different legal situations and improve skills to protect these rights through strategic case management opportunities, she explained.