Female participation in EU exporting activities: jobs and wages

This analysis sheds new insights on the gender-balance of the employment opportunities supported by extra-EU exports. It shows that in 2017 more than 13 million female workers in the EU had jobs thanks to the exports of goods and services to the rest of the world. However, there is a gender gap when it comes to the employment prospects offered by extra-EU exports: only 38% of the jobs dependent on exports to the world are taken up by women. The analysis suggests that such gender gap is largely due to the concentration of female employment in the less export-oriented sectors, notably in services. Furthermore, the current note makes clear that labour compensation for female workers in exports-supported jobs stagnated in comparison to total employment over the time period considered. Although all exports-supported jobs benefit from a wage premium, there is a gender wage gap of 4 p.p.