Source: cyprus-mail.com
Gender gap persists among scientists and engineers despite sector growth
Women in Cyprus accounted for 51.8 per cent of all people employed in science and technology during 2025, according to Eurostat, placing the country just below the EU average but still among the member states where women represented a majority of the workforce in the sector.
The European statistical authority reported that more than 81.6 million people aged 15 to 74 were employed in science and technology across the European Union in 2025.
This represented an increase of 1.8 per cent compared with 2024, equivalent to an additional 1.5 million people, and a rise of 25.3 per cent over the past decade.
According to the data, women made up 52.5 per cent of all people employed in science and technology across the EU, amounting to 42.8 million workers.
Most women in the sector were employed in service activities, Eurostat said.
The number of women employed in science and technology occupations across the bloc increased by 2.3 per cent compared with 2024.
Compared with 2015, the number rose by an impressive 27.9 per cent, corresponding to an increase of more than 9.3 million women over the ten-year period.
Eurostat defines science and technology occupations as jobs in which the main tasks require a high level of professional or technical knowledge and experience in one or more fields of physical sciences, life sciences, social sciences or the humanities.
The Cyprus figure of 51.8 per cent means that women accounted for more than half of all people employed in science and technology occupations on the island in 2025.
Because of its small size, Cyprus is assessed as one region in the Eurostat dataset, unlike larger member states that are divided into several regions.
Across the EU’s level 1 statistical regions, the highest shares of women employed in science and technology were recorded in Latvia, where women represented 62.4 per cent of the workforce.
This was followed by the Great Plain and North region of Hungary with 61.1 per cent and Estonia with 60.5 per cent.
At the opposite end of the scale, the lowest shares were registered in Corsica in France, where women accounted for 42.7 per cent of people employed in science and technology.
Malta followed with 46.0 per cent, while Italy’s Centre region recorded 47.2 per cent.
The report also highlighted the position of scientists and engineers, who form a major subgroup within the broader science and technology workforce.
According to Eurostat, scientists and engineers represented 24.8 per cent of all people employed in science and technology across the EU in 2025.
Germany employed the largest number of scientists and engineers among EU countries, with 4.2 million people working in those professions.
Despite women accounting for a majority of all science and technology workers, they remained underrepresented among scientists and engineers.
Women represented 40.8 per cent of all scientists and engineers in the EU in 2025, significantly below their overall share of employment in the wider science and technology sector.
Eurostat said that this proportion increased by only 0.5 percentage points over the past decade.
However, the absolute number of women working as scientists and engineers rose sharply during the same period.
The number increased by 54.4 per cent, from 5.3 million in 2015 to 8.2 million in 2025, Eurostat added.
The latest figures indicate that while women now make up the majority of workers in science and technology across much of Europe, including Cyprus, a significant gender gap remains in the specialised professions of science and engineering.