2nd December 2025
The European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) has released its new Gender Equality Index. Across the European Union, gender equality scored 63.4 out of 100. This year, the index was presented with a significantly updated methodology, offering a more accurate picture of gender equality – including indicators such as the gender pension gap and healthy life expectancy at age 65.
How Does Lithuania Look?
Lithuania scored 60.9 out of 100 this year, ranking 14th among EU member states- two places higher than last year, when it was 16th. The top-ranking countries in the Gender Equality Index are Sweden, France, Denmark, and Spain, while the lowest scores this year went to Latvia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Cyprus.
“Lithuania’s result shows progress, but not fast enough to catch up with the European average. The index reveals that we are among the leaders in labor market participation – based on the number of women and men working full-time, Lithuania ranks second in the EU. At the same time, however, significant gender income gaps remain, and women continue to bear a greater share of household and caregiving responsibilities. Clearly, progress is uneven and does not occur uniformly across all areas,” says Equal Opportunities Ombudswoman Birutė Sabatauskaitė.
A Mixed Picture
Lithuania scores highest in the financial domain, earning 81.9 points and 6th place in the EU. According to the index authors, this high score reflects the population’s economic situation and a relatively small pension gap. While women’s pensions in Lithuania are 12 % lower than men’s, this remains one of the smallest differences in Europe.
Income inequality between women and men persists, especially among couples with children. Women living with a partner earn, on average, 77 % of their partner’s income. In couples with children, this share drops to 59 %.
Lithuania continues to show a large education gap between women and men. In the 30–34 age group, 71 % of women and 53 % of men have attained higher education*—one of the largest differences in the EU. According to the index authors, Lithuania has made little progress in reducing occupational segregation over the past decade; career choices are still strongly influenced by gender stereotypes. Four out of five graduates in education, humanities, arts, and social fields are women, while two out of three graduates in mathematics, engineering, technology, and other STEM fields are men.
Major Challenges: Health and Household Work
Health remains one of Lithuania’s weakest areas in the Gender Equality Index, with the country ranking 24th in the EU. Only 45 % of women in Lithuania rate their health as good or very good—the lowest in the EU – compared with 55 % of men.
“Although women in Lithuania live longer than men on average, their health in later life is worse. The index shows that only 37 % of women aged 65 can expect to live without major or moderate health problems, while the figure for men is almost ten percentage points higher. This means that as women age, they experience more health-related limitations, which directly affects their daily lives, independence, and ability to participate actively in society,” notes B. Sabatauskaitė.
Index data also show that 60 % of women perform daily household tasks (cooking, cleaning, laundry, etc.), compared with only 33 % of men – meaning women do these tasks nearly twice as often. Additionally, 37 % of women spend more than five hours daily caring for children under 11, compared with 25 % of men. In Lithuania, older women not only face more health difficulties but also carry out household and caregiving tasks more frequently than men, meaning that gender disparities in caregiving increase with age.