Women in Belgium earn on average 5% less than their male colleagues, however this figure is significantly lower that the EU average.
The findings were according to 2022 figures published on Friday by the Belgian Ministry of Employment on Equal Pay Day in Europe, which is Friday.
In Europe, in 2022, women earned 12.7% less than men on average in terms of gross hourly wage. However, in Belgium, the 5% pay gap between men and women tends to vary according to age groups, the Ministry added.
They highlighted that for workers under 25, women earn 0.2% more on average than men. Nonetheless, the gap is gradually narrowing in general over time.
Among highly qualified individuals, the pay gap remains significant at 18% and has been stable. The Ministry of Employment attributes this to highly educated women being more often employed in lower-paying sectors than men.
Conversely, for workers with low or medium qualifications, the pay gap reduces year by year.
Belgium performs comparatively well within the EU, with only Italy (4.3%) and Luxembourg (-0.7%) showing a smaller gender pay gap. The country with the largest gender pay gap is Estonia (21.3%).
