According to the latest Glassdoor Economic Research report conducted by Llewellyn Consulting, 18 European countries and the US were compared on a variety of gender equality measures in the workplace with Sweden, Norway and Finland ranking as the highest.

The research showed that Greece, Italy and Ireland ranked as having the lowest overall gender equality in the workplace.

The gender gap in overall employment is largest in Italy and Greece, at 18 percentage points and 17 points respectively: in Italy, only 47% of working-age women are employed, compared with around 65% of working-age men; in Greece, it is 41% for women and 58% for men. The gap is smallest in Finland, Sweden, and Norway, at between only 2 and 4 percentage points. In Finland, 68% of women and 70% of men of working age are employed; in Sweden and Norway, the proportion is 73% and 77%, respectively.

For the study, Glassdoor and Llewellyn used the United States as a benchmark. It also used key indicators such as the difference in employment rates between men and women for overall employment and for full-time employment (the “gender gap” in employment).

It also analysed the gender gap in employment by educational attainment and the female-to-male ratio in labour force participation.  It also includedtertiary education enrollment, in professional and technical positions, and among legislators, senior officials, and managers. Moreover, the study also analysed the proportion of managers who are women, and the share of women on the boards of the largest listed companies. Finally, the “cost of motherhood” is considered — that’s to say, the increase in the gender pay gap accounted for by the presence of children.

Among the key findings, it showed that although more and more women are entering the workplace, in all countries that were examined, there are still fewer women than men in the workplace. Additionally, it found that further education significantly increases a woman’s probability of being employed.

It also found that women are under-represented at board level: in every country that was examined, fewer than 40% of board members of listed companies are women, with some countries having as few as 10%.

Furthermore, the research also found that women are especially under-represented at the more senior levels, and least under-represented in professional and more technically-demanding jobs. It also found that the increase in the gender pay gap attributable to the presence of children is most severe in Ireland (at over 30 percentage points), followed by Germany (23 points), and Norway (19 points). The cost of motherhood is lowest in Italy, Spain, and Belgium (3 points or less).