Cyprus gender gap in working life duration

Cyprus has the fourth-largest gender gap in the EU for years spent working, with men expected to work for an average of 7.5 years longer than women.

The expected average duration of working life in the EU was 37.9 years in Cyprus, above the European Union average (36), according to Eurostat.

Since 2001, the expected average duration of working life steadily increased in the EU, then declined for the first time in 2020 due to the COVID-19 health crisis.

The expected average duration rose from 32 years in 2001 to 35.9 years in 2019, then down to 35.6 years in 2020, before returning to its pre-pandemic level in 2021.

Among the EU Member States, the expected average duration of working life – from the age of 15 – varied.

In 2021, the highest durations in the EU were recorded in the Netherlands (42.5 years), Sweden (42.3) and Denmark (40.3).

By contrast, the lowest durations of working life were in Romania (31.3 years), Italy (31.6) and Greece (32.9).

There were also significant differences in the expected duration of working life between men and women.

In the EU, Men were expected to have a duration of working life of 38.2 years on average, while the average duration for women was at 33.7 years.

The gender gap in Cyprus is significant since the expected duration of working life was calculated at 41.6 for men and 34.1 for women.

For men, the longest duration was recorded in the Netherlands (44.3 years) and Sweden (43.6), and the shortest was in Bulgaria (34.6) and Romania (35).

For women, the longest duration was also recorded in Sweden (41) and the Netherlands (40.5), but the shortest was in Italy (26.9) and Romania (27.4).

Although men are expected to work longer than women, the gender gap has reduced in the EU with the growing participation of women in the labour market (the gender gap was +4.5 years in 2021 compared with +7.0 years in 2001).

Last year, this gender gap was most pronounced in Italy (+9.1 years), followed by Malta (+8.4) and Romania (+7.6); Cyprus was fourth with 7.5 years.