The number of women working as scientists and engineers in the EU has been on the rise. Data show an increase from 3.4 million in 2008 to 5.2 million in 2014, reaching 7.9 million in 2024.
Across all economic activities, women represented 40.5% of the scientists and engineers’ workforce in 2024. This share was higher in the total knowledge-intensive services (45.1%) and in the services (45.0%) categories. In manufacturing, women represented 22.4% of scientists and engineers, while in other activities, that share was 23.6%.
Among the EU countries, the proportion of female scientists and engineers varied widely in 2024, with the highest shares registered in Latvia (50.9%), Denmark (48.8%), Estonia (47.9%), Spain (47.6%), and Bulgaria and Ireland (both 47.3%). The lowest representation of female scientists and engineers was in Finland (30.7%), followed by Hungary (31.7%), Luxembourg (32.4%), Slovakia (33.6%) and Germany (34.6%).