Facts and figures on the International Women's Day

International Women's Day is celebrated every year on March 8 and has its origins in women's struggles for labor and voting rights at the beginning of the 20th century. The day was first celebrated in 1911 and institutionalized by the United Nations (UN) as International Women's Day in 1975. This marked an important milestone in the history of equality.

But how has equality progressed since then?

Or: 123 years to go until equality

Despite much progress, the path to actual equality is slow. According to the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Report 2025, at the current rate it will take around 123 years (Global Gender Gap Index 69.0%) before gender equality is achieved worldwide.

Germany ranks 9th in the global gender gap

Although the gap is smaller in Germany, with a Global Gender Gap Index of 80.3%, many indicators show that structural disadvantages still exist and are increasing in comparison. In 2023, Germany was still in 6th place in the Global Gender Gap Index, but in 2025 it was only in 9th place.

Structural disadvantage is evident in all areas of life

Unequal pay (gender pay gap)

Despite decades of progress, the pay gap between men and women in Germany persists: The unadjusted gender pay gap was 16% in 2025. This means that women earn an average of 16% less per hour than men and therefore work "unpaid " for almost two months of the year. Even if factors such as occupation, qualifications or scope of work are taken into account, there is still an adjusted gender pay gap of 6%.

The gap is particularly large after starting a family: While it is still 9% for women under 30, it rises to as much as 28% for women between 30 and 49. The causes range from increased employment in lower-paid professions and fewer opportunities for promotion to the unequal distribution of care work and part-time work. Unequal distribution of care work and mental load

Women in Germany perform around 43% more unpaid care work than men. That is around 76 minutes a day or a total of almost 29 hours a week (men: 20 hours). Whether childcare, care or housework, the gender care gap shows that women invest significantly more time in unpaid work. This has a negative impact on income, career opportunities and retirement provision. The invisible organizational work ("mental load") also mostly falls to women. A fairer distribution of care work would therefore be a key step towards economic independence and equality.

Less representation in politics, business and science

Women in parliaments

Although parliaments are at the heart of democracy and should ensure fair representation of all social groups, the proportion of women in the Bundestag fell to just 32.4% after the 2025 elections. This means that Germany is still only in the middle of the field in an international comparison. In local parliaments, the proportion is even lower at around 30%. At around 25%, the proportion of women in the Bavarian state parliament is the lowest compared to the other federal states.

Women in leadership positions

Women are still significantly underrepresented in management positions In 2024, only 29.1% of managers were women, significantly lower than the EU average of 35.2%. By comparison, the frontrunner Sweden has a 44.4% share of women in management positions. Germany therefore remains in the lower midfield in a European comparison.

Women in science

The "glass ceiling" can also be seen in academia: in 2023, the proportion of women in professorships at German universities was just 28.8%. While almost parity was achieved for junior professorships at 49.4%, the proportion decreases as the salary level increases. It can be seen that the higher the position, the lower the proportion of women.

Poverty in old age (gender pension gap)

The logical consequence of all the structural disadvantages mentioned above is that women are more affected by poverty in old age. Due to their employment biographies, the pay gap and unpaid care work, they have lower pension entitlements at the end of the day. In Bavaria, the at-risk-of-poverty rate for people aged 65 and over is the highest in Germany at around 21%, and for women aged 65 and over it is even around 25%.

Gender health gap

This describes gender-specific inequalities in health that are caused by biological, social and economic factors. Although women have a higher life expectancy, they suffer more frequently from chronic illnesses and often experience disadvantages in the healthcare system, for example due to a lack of research on female patients or the fact that their complaints are taken less seriously.