The overall employee participation in the Polish labour market in 2022 was on average three years longer than in 2010. The estimated duration of women’s economic activity increased in this period from 29 do 32 years (despite the fact that on 1st October 2019, the retirement age of women in Poland was lowered to 60). By comparison, on average in the EU, the estimated duration of women’s economic activity increased from 31 to 34 years between 2010 and 2022. In the same period, the participation of men in the Polish labour market increased on average from 34 to 37 years (from 37 to 39 years on average in the EU). Despite the increase in the expected duration of working life of Polish women, they still rank among the top ten EU countries with the shortest participation in the labour market. Among the factors responsible for this situation is the low level of economic activity of Polish women (aged 15 and over) compared to female residents across EU countries, which is related to i.a. different thresholds of retirement age for women in the UE.

In Poland, as in the rest of the EU, employment among women is lower than among men. In 2022 in Poland, 81% of women and 90% of men aged 25-54 were employed. A more dynamic increase in the number of working women than that of men narrowed the employment gap, and in 2022 it was a single-digit figure for the first time (less than 9 p.p.). In the EU, on average, the employment gap between men and women also became smaller, but remained above 10 p.p. In Poland, women's access to the labour market increased primarily at the beginning of the current decade. In 2020 (despite the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic), the growth in men and women’s employment (aged 25-54) became equal, while in the following years, the number of employed females grew faster than that of employed males.

On both the Polish and EU labour markets, certain activities tend to be dominated by either men or women. For years, health and social welfare as well as education and household activities (including cooking, teaching, caring for household members, and other services, like e.g. production of various items satisfying the needs of the household) have been feminised to the largest extent of all areas of economic activity. Women in Poland account for more than 80% of the total number of the employed in each of the above-mentioned sections. Most women in Poland take up jobs in trade (16-18% of the total number of working women in the years 2010-2022), especially in retail, as well as in manufacturing (14-16%), especially in the manufacture of food products, and education (13-15%).

Women in Poland not only find employment less frequently than men, but also withdraw from the labour market more than twice as often as the latter. However, economic inactivity is less common today than it was over a decade ago. In the period of 2010–2022, the percentage of the economically inactive 25- to 54-year-olds decreased both among women (from 23% to 17%) and men (from 13% to 8%). Remaining outside of the labour market occurs less often in Poland than on average in the EU (where 19% of women and 8% of men were economically inactive in 2022). The most common reason behind women’s economic inactivity is still caregiving responsibilities. In 2022, this situation concerned 42% of the economically inactive women in Poland (compared to 26% of women in the EU); Polish women rank second (following women in Ireland) in the EU in terms of labour market withdrawal resulting from caregiving responsibilities towards children or adult family members.

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After a decade of fluctuations with negative trends prevailing, Poland's gender pay gap decreased in 2021 to the level observed in 2010, when women earned 4.5% less than men. The gender pay gap narrowed in most sections of economic activity over this period, most notably in accommodation and catering, where the differences between the earnings of men and women decreased fourfold. In contrast, the disparities to the detriment of women increased in the field of education, information and communication, as well as professional, scientific and technical activities, and in other services.

The largest gender pay gap is still evident in finance and insurance, where for years women have been earning over 30% less than men (although these differences are gradually decreasing). On the other hand, there are also industries where women earn more than men; for years, women's work has been better paid than men's in e.g. construction (by about 10% in 2021). Women also earn more in businesses related to water supply, waste management and reclamation activities, as well as in transportation and storage (by 1–5% in 2021).

The gender pay gap in Poland varies by employer and working time. As in most EU countries, it occurs to a lesser degree in the public sector than in the private sector. Moreover, starting from 2020, the earnings of women employed in the public sector institutions have in some cases exceeded the pay received by men by 0.6% on average. In the private sector, however, women are still on average paid over a dozen percent or so less than men. When considering working time variations, a larger gender pay gap appears in the case of women working part-time than full-time. Over the past decade in Poland, the gender pay gap in terms of working time was generally twice as large in the case of women working part-time than it was for females working full-time (9.5% compared to 4.2% in 2021).

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In 2022, among economically active Polish women (aged 25–64), one in three had both higher education and worked in the field of science and technology (in 2010, it was one in four). As regards men, on the other hand, this proportion was considerably lower: in 2022, one in five had higher education and worked in science and technology (in 2010, it was one in eight). Thanks to their high qualifications, women in Poland have for years constituted a larger part of the Core of Human Resources in Science and Technology (HRSTC). This category encompasses individuals with higher education, engaged in activities related to the creation, development, dissemination and application of scientific and technical knowledge. The predominance of women over men in this group increased over the last decade (in 2022, the proportion of women and men employed in HRSTC stood at 62% and 38%, respectively). At present, Polish women rank 5th among EU female residents in terms of the largest share in HRSTC, i.e. one position higher than in 2010.

Within HRSTC, Scientists and Engineers (SEs) are the key occupations guaranteeing the development of science and technology. The representation of both genders among SEs has for years been nearly equal in Poland; at the beginning of the last decade, women accounted for a slightly larger share, while men took lead in the recent years. At present, women in Poland hold the 6th position in terms of the largest share in SEs in the EU (in 2010, Polish women were at the top of the ranking). Among the factors determining the loss of the numerical advantage of female specialists and engineers after 2010 in Poland is the faster growth of male employment in this group of professions and the deterioration of the situation of female scientists and engineers in the labour market during the pandemic. In 2020, for the first time, the number of Polish women working as SEs fell year-on-year by over a dozen thousand or so, while the number of their male counterparts increased by a similar amount. Between 2021 and 2022, Polish women started to return to work as scientists and engineers, restoring the trend observed before the outbreak of the pandemic. Among Polish women working as SEs, female health professionals have for years accounted for the largest percentage (more than 80% of the total number of professionals in this field), while female ICT professionals constituted the smallest group (15% of all ICT professionals).

While the general situation in the economy indicates an almost equal number of men and women working as SEs, it varies according to the technological advancement of a given economic field. The largest gender disproportion (to the disadvantage of women) is observed in high-technology sectors (high-tech sectors), which focus mainly on developing innovations and where attractive employment conditions are offered. In Poland, like in the EU on average, the representation of women in the above-mentioned sectors is significantly lower than that of men. Only one in five scientists and engineers in Poland working in high-tech is a woman (the situation in 2022 did not change significantly compared to 2010).

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The situation of Polish women on labour market was significantly better in 2022 than in 2010, although in some aspects it remained less favourable than that of men. Women are still slightly more likely than men to face unemployment, although unemployment decreased to a larger extent among women than men during the years 2010-2022. The unemployment rate (according to the Labour Force Survey) during this period dropped from 10.3% to 2.9% among women and from 9.7% to 2.8% among men. The highest unemployment rate by age was recorded among young persons (aged 15-29), who were either entering the labour market or were present in it for a short time. In general, unemployment tends to affect young women to a greater extent than young men: in 2022, the unemployment rate for women aged 15-29 was higher than among their male peers (7.0% and 6.6%, respectively). This disproportion was significantly smaller in 2022 than at the beginning of the previous decade; the largest gap in the unemployment rate between young women and young men was recorded in 2012 (20.6% and 16.8%, respectively). The employment rate among women aged 15-29 increased over the 2010-2022 period at a slower pace (from 39% to 43%) than among men of the same age (from 48% to 53%).

The unemployed who are over 50 years old are also with a specific situation on labour market. The risk of unemployment faced by this group gradually decreased in the years 2010-2022, and the unemployment rate was generally lower among women than men (unlike in other age groups). The total unemployment in the 50-59 age group decreased on average fourfold during this period: from 8.1% to 1.9% among women and from 8.5% to 2.3% among men. At the same time, the employment rate of 50-59-year-olds grew from 47% to 75% for women and from 63% to 81% for men.

Unemployed parents of at least one child up to 6 years old are another group whose situation on labour market is specific. In Poland (as on average in the EU), the proportion of mothers of young children in employment is smaller than the average proportion of women in general in employment. The overall employment rate for Polish women aged 25-49 stood at 81% in 2022, while among mothers of young children (up to 6 years old), it was 71%. A difference of this kind occurred analogically among Polish men, but it was much less pronounced: the employment rate for men aged 25-49 in general was 91%, and 85% for fathers of young children from the same age group.

In general, the more children a woman in Poland has, the smaller the chances she would be in employment (which is similar to the EU average), while the opposite holds true for men in Poland: as the number of the man’s children grows, so do (slightly) the chances of him being in employment (unlike the EU average). This demonstrates that the larger the number of children in a family, the greater the disparity in employment between mothers and fathers of young children. The average employment rate for mothers of one or two young children in Poland is slightly lower than the EU average, but, on the other hand, the number of working mothers of three or more children is higher in Poland than in the EU on average (in 2022, it was 57% and 53%, respectively).

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