Greece has recorded a significant improvement in gender equality, according to the World Economic Forum’s latest Global Gender Gap Report 2024.

Our country moved up 20 places, ranking 73rd globally with an equality index of 0.714, but despite the progress, it remains in 34th place among 40 European countries, indicating that there is still a long way to go to achieve full equality.

According to ManpowerGroup’s “DEIB & Gender Equality: progress and challenges in the workplace” survey of 525 Greek employees, only 24% of them believe that their corporate initiatives are moving in the right direction to increase female representation in all professional roles.

As it turns out, women are still underrepresented in senior management (22%) and professional/technical roles (27%), while the percentages are slightly higher in middle-level management (29%) and front-line management roles (31%).

Moreover, the pay gap remains significant, with records from the GSEE Labour Institute showing that women in Greece receive 16.5% lower wagethan men for equal work, while in the European Union women are still paid less than men, and according to the statistical service (ELSTAT), the discrepancies in wages between men and women, in favour of the former, range from 8.6% to 40.5%.

At the same time, it emerges that despite the challenges, Greek employers appear optimistic since, according to the survey, it was found that:

– 45% of Greek employers believe that gender equality will be fully achieved in their company within the next two years.

– 29% say that equality has already been achieved.

– 44% say their company is “close to full equality”.

– Just, 4% feel their business is very far from gender equality.

Monitoring promotions through development programs is 34% globally, while 33% in Greece, while analyzing and addressing DEIB challenges is 34% globally, but only 28% in Greece, suggesting that Greek companies are not yet effectively measuring inequalities in the workplace. Moreover, the measurement of flexibility policies reaches 34% globally, but in Greece, it is only 26%.

As shown globally, trust between groups is considered the most decisive factor for the success of DEIB initiatives, with 42%, but in Greece, it is also 40%, which suggests that trust in the work environment is a priority, but there is still room for growth. It should be noted that support for employee well-being ranks 2nd globally (40%), and in Greece, but with a lower percentage (37%).

According to the same survey, policies for equal development opportunities occupy the 3rd place globally (38%), and in Greece with 35%, while employee recognition for efforts to promote diversity and inclusion is 36% globally, while in Greece the percentage is 4 points lower (32%) in 6th place, which indicates less emphasis on rewarding these initiatives.

Globally, 35% of employers consider it critical to support employees who care for children or the elderly, while in Greece, the percentage is slightly lower (34%). Mentoring and training in different work models are supported by 35% of employers globally, but 29% in Greece, indicating that the country lags in employee development practices through mentoring.

Elsewhere in the report, it says that at the current rate, global gender equality will take 134 years to achieve, three years longer than the 2023 estimate.

Finally, the country shows significant improvement in political empowerment, with an increase of 24 positions compared to 2023, and maintains a high performance in women’s education and professional qualifications, but women’s representation in politics and senior leadership positions remains limited. Greece ranks 78th in women’s participation in politics, with women holding only 23% of parliamentary seats and 25% of ministerial positions.