If you are a woman living on the Costa Blanca, there is reason to feel proud. Spain has become one of the European Union’s leading countries for gender equality.
According to the 2025 Gender Equality Index, Spain now ranks fourth in the EU and scores well above the European average. Even so, the latest figures show that equality is still some distance away. Across the EU, women need to work about fifteen and a half months to earn what men typically make in one year.
The index, produced by the European Institute for Gender Equality, gives Spain a score of 70.9 out of 100. That is 13.2 points higher than in 2015 and 5.2 points more than in 2020, showing steady progress over the past decade.
Sweden steals top spot
In the overall European ranking, Sweden comes first, followed by France and Denmark. Spain takes fourth place, with the Netherlands just behind in fifth.
Much of Spain’s progress is linked to stronger female representation in politics and business. Women now hold 45% of ministerial positions and 44% of seats in the national parliament. At regional and local level, they occupy around 47% of positions in assemblies and municipal governments.
In the business world the picture is also improving. Women now represent about 41% of board members in Spain’s largest listed companies, higher than the EU average of roughly one third.
Work and daily life
Spain also performs relatively well when it comes to balancing work and daily life. Around 59% of women say they do housework every day, compared with 39% of men. While the gap remains clear, the share of men taking part in daily household tasks is higher than the EU average.
Leisure time is also fairly common. Around 35% of women and 47% of men say they have time each week for leisure activities, again slightly above European averages.
Income and health also contribute to Spain’s relatively strong position. In terms of earnings, the median income for working women aged between 18 and 64 is €21,516, while for men it is €26,553.
Health and education
Health is Spain’s strongest category in the index, scoring 86.2 points. Among people aged 16 and over, 79% of women and 69% of men report that they neither smoke nor drink excessively, both figures higher than the EU average.
Education is another area where women in Spain perform strongly. Among people aged 30 to 34, around 57% of women have completed higher education, compared with 47% of men.
However, women are less represented in vocational training pathways. Only around 9% of graduates aged 25 to 34 in vocational education are women, compared with 12% of men.
Career breaks and retirement
Despite Spain’s high overall ranking, several important gaps remain. One of the most significant relates to employment. The full time equivalent employment rate stands at 43% for women and 57% for men among people aged 15 to 89.
Women also tend to have shorter working lives. On average, women spend around 35 years in employment compared with 38 years for men. Career breaks and part time work play a role in this difference.
These gaps continue into retirement. The gender pension gap in Spain stands at 29%, higher than the EU average of 25%. Lower wages and fewer years of pension contributions mean many women receive smaller pensions.
Finances and care
Financial pressure is particularly noticeable in single and single parent households. Around 20% of employed women in these households experience in work poverty, compared with 13% of men.
Unpaid care work also remains unevenly shared. More than half of women provide informal childcare for children aged up to 11 for more than 35 hours per week. For men the figure is 29%.
Long term care responsibilities are also significant. Among adults aged 45 to 64, around 45% of women and 40% of men provide more than 20 hours of informal care each week.
Gender violence
Another serious issue highlighted by the index is violence against women. Around 28% of women in Spain aged between 18 and 74 say they have experienced physical or sexual violence since the age of 15.
The rate of women killed by an intimate partner or family member stands at roughly one woman per 300,000 inhabitants.
Spain’s fourth place ranking confirms the country as one of Europe’s leaders in gender equality. At the same time, the figures show that important challenges remain, particularly in employment, pensions, unpaid care and the ongoing fight against violence against women.
