Women earned 12% less per hour than men across EU in 2023. Gender pay gap barely changed over last decade. Overall earnings gap hit 36.7% in 2018 due to hours and employment. Employment rate 70.8% for women versus 80.8% for men in 2024. Pay gap covers access to work, progression, and rewards beyond discrimination. Bulk of pay gap unexplained by worker traits like education or occupation. Unexplained gap not tied to working time or economic sector. Pay gaps vary hugely by country from under 5% in Luxembourg to over 17% in Estonia. Low gaps in Romania, Slovenia, Poland, Belgium, Italy. High gaps in Hungary, Germany, Austria. Pay gaps decreased in most countries over ten years. Low pay gap can mean fewer women work, only high-earners enter market. More pay transparency needed to expose unjustified differences.