Eurostat says it will take 70 years to eliminate gender pay gap (Photo: VNA)

According to Eurostat statistics, women's gross hourly earnings in 2016 were on average 16.2 % below those of men in the European Union. Germany and the UK top the list of gender pay gap at 21%. In Romania, Italy, and Luxembourg, the gap was 5%. It was 14% in France. According to the International Labor Organization, the gap has narrowed in the last 20 years but women still have fewer job opportunities, lower quality jobs, and more barriers to promotion.

The World Employment and Social Outlook: Trends for Women 2018 - Global Report found that the global women's labor force participation rate - 48.5 percent in 2018 - is 26.5 percentage points below the participation rate for men. Deborah Greenfield, ILO Deputy Director-General for Policies, said that more needs to be done to reverse this "persistent, unacceptable trend" by implementing policies tailored to women, while considering the unequal demands they face in household and parenting responsibilities.