Women in the Blue Economy - European Commission
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EU Blue Economy Observatory

Women in the Blue Economy

Women in the Blue Economy: Riding the Wave of Change

Despite much progress in the last few years, women remain underrepresented in the labour market. In 2021, 67.7% of women were employed, whereas men’s employment was at 78.5%. Overall, women on average, earn less than men per hour. This gender pay gap stands at 13.0 % for the EU27 in 2020 and declined only by 2.8 percentage points since 2010 1. Several factors contribute to this gap:  different working patterns of women, often linked to  their career breaks or change in working patterns to look after a child or other relatives; gender segregation in low-paid sectors; part-time employment. Some women are even paid less than men for the same work2.

 

 

These differences look even starker, considering that women are increasingly well qualified: more women than men graduate from European universities. However, due to care responsibilities, many women do not feel as free in their choice of jobs or do not get the same job opportunities as men. For the same reason, women are more likely than men to work in part-time jobs3. As traditional industries transition toward sustainable practices, women’s participation and equitable remuneration are still lagging behind4.

While there is very little data on the exact number of women working in the blue economy, it should be noted that some sources point to the fact that the blue economy is not exempt from the gender disparities seen in many other sectors5. 

The only sector for which data on the gender split of the workforce are available in the EU is “marine living resources”. It has been calculated that women represented 3.63% of the workforce onboard fishing vessels in 2020 6, 22% of employees in the aquaculture sector in 2020 7, and 56.2% of employees in the fish processing industry in 2021 8.

Although critical for achieving sustainable ocean economies, women remain underrepresented and face significant barriers ranging from limited access to leadership roles to insufficient opportunities in sectors like maritime industries, fisheries, and coastal tourism. Despite the sector’s pivotal role in sustainable development and economic growth, it remains a largely male-dominated field, where women often find themselves relegated to the lowest-paid, lowest-status positions 9.