Poland on the way to SDGs. Report 2025

Women in Poland, as in many EU countries, participate less frequently than men in the economic and political life. Currently, women hold 29% of seats in the Polish parliament, while in 2015 it was 25%. However, this is still below the EU average (33% ). Women’s rate of participation in the Polish government has varied over the last decade. Between 2015 and 2019, it gradually declined from 29% to 15%. Over time, however, the trend reversed and in 2024, the percentage of women in the Polish government returned to its 2015 level. The average percentage of women in the government is slightly higher for EU countries (35%) than for Poland. Finland is the EU leader in gender equality in the executive branch (women constitute 60% of the Finnish government), while Belgium is second (55%). In Estonia and France, women constitute half of the government members. In Hungary, on the other hand, there are currently no women in the government.

At the same time, women are becoming increasingly active in local government at all levels – from municipal councils, through councils of cities with powiat rights and powiat councils, to regional parliaments. In 2024, women held every third seat in municipal councils, councils of cities with powiat rights and regional parliaments, and every fourth seat in powiat councils. In 2015, women's participation in these bodies was lower – one in four and one in five, respectively. Women are much less likely to be heads of gminas, town governors or mayors than council members. In 2024, they constituted 16% of those holding these posts, compared to 11% in 2015.

For over a decade, women in Poland have held almost half of all managerial positions, but at the same time they account for only 33% of the representatives of public authorities, senior officials and directors general (compared to less than 29% in 2014). The percentage of women in managerial positions varies depending on the industry. Women constitute the majority of managers (61-67%) in, e.g., catering and hospitality, retail and wholesale trade, and business services and management. On the other hand, they are much less likely to hold managerial positions in the agricultural production, forestry and fishing, mining, industry, construction and distribution or the ICT. They account for 17-23% of managers in those sectors.

Poland, with the score higher than the EU average, has been one of the EU countries with the largest proportion of women in managerial positions for several years, ranking third in this respect both in 2015 and 2024. Every year, the number of female directors of the largest listed companies is increasing. Currently, women account for 21% of all directors in Poland (compared to 16% in 2015). However, this is still less than the EU average, which has risen from 20% to 33% in the same period.

In Poland, as in other EU countries, women are less likely than men to be employed. Currently, 82% of women aged 25–54 are employed (73% in 2015), while as regards men in the same age group, it is 91% (83% in 2015). Thanks to the growing economic activity of women of working age, the gender employment gap has narrowed to single digits. It currently stands at around 9 percentage points, compared to 10-11 percentage points in 2015–2018. A short-term increase in this difference was recorded in 2019–2020, to around 12 percentage points. Across the whole EU, the employment gap between women and men has also shrunk slightly (from 11 to 10 percentage points). Although the gender employment gap in Poland has narrowed (and is now smaller than the EU average), the country still ranks among the EU countries with the greatest inequalities in this respect.

Women in Poland still earn less than men in the same positions, but this pay gap is much smaller than the EU average. Polish women earn on average 8% less than men (7% in 2015), while the average gender pay gap in the EU is 12% (compared to 16% in 2015). Poland is among the top ten EU countries with the lowest pay gap between women and men. The largest differences between female and male earnings occur in finances, insurance, information and communication. Women working in these sectors earn nearly 30% less than men. However, there are industries where women are paid more than men. For years, female workers have been paid better than male counterparts in e.g. construction (by as much as over 11%). Women also receive higher salaries in sectors related to the water supply, waste management and remediation (by 4%).