International Women’s Day is today (8th March), and when it comes to gender equality in the workplace, Sweden is the top European country for women to work in 2023, according to a new report.
Interested in the European countries that provide women with the best opportunities, Reboot Online evaluated a variety of factors such as economic and leadership role opportunities, creating a points-based index out of 300 points to determine which European countries offer the best prospects for female professionals.
Key findings:
- Sweden is the best European country for women to work (241.4 points out of a possible 300)
- Sweden is the only European country to score 100 points for economic opportunity.
- Finland (227.6) and Norway (213.8) are the second and third best European countries for women to work.
- Turkey is the European country with the least work opportunities in 2023 (31 out of a possible 300).
- Slovenia, Romania and Lithuania are among the 15 European countries with the best opportunities for women in 2023.
The best European countries for women to work in 2023:
| Rank | Country | Economic Opportunity (/100) | Women in Leadership (/100) | Full paid weeks of maternity leave (/100) | Total of points (/300) |
| 1 | Sweden | 100 | 93.1 | 48.3 | 241.4 |
| 2 | Finland | 86.2 | 86.2 | 55.2 | 227.6 |
| 3 | Norway | 79.3 | 79.3 | 55.2 | 213.8 |
| 4 | Lithuania | 82.8 | 55.2 | 69 | 207 |
| 5 | Slovenia | 89.7 | 34.5 | 79 | 203.5 |
| 6 | Romania | 44.8 | 51.7 | 100 | 196.5 |
| =7 | Bulgaria | 62.1 | 41.4 | 89.7 | 193.2 |
| =7 | Estonia | 75.9 | 20.7 | 96.6 | 193.2 |
| 9 | Iceland | 93.1 | 65.5 | 31 | 189.6 |
| 10 | France | 62.1 | 96.6 | 27.6 | 186.3 |
| 11 | Latvia | 93.1 | 6.9 | 75.9 | 175.9 |
| =12 | UK | 58.6 | 100 | 6.9 | 165.5 |
| =12 | Germany | 27.6 | 72.4 | 65.5 | 165.5 |
| 14 | Spain | 41.4 | 89.7 | 24.1 | 155.2 |
| 15 | Denmark | 48.3 | 58.6 | 41.4 | 148.3 |
The UK is the 12th best European country for women to work in 2023
The UK ranks in 12th place with 165.5 points out of 300. Reboot Online found that the UK has the highest number of women in leadership positions of all the European countries studied, taking into account wage equality for similar work and estimated income – that’s 317 active duty leadership positions in 2022. As a result, it scored 100 points in our index. However, it is quite disappointing that The UK only has 11.6 paid full weeks of maternity leave which equals a score of 6.9/100 for this category.
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By GlobalDataSweden is the best European country for women to work in 2023
Reboot Online can reveal that Sweden is the best European country offering the best work opportunities for women in 2023, with a combined total of 241.4 points out of a possible 300. It is unsurprising that Swedish women thrive in the workplace, as the data shows there are plenty of opportunities for women in leadership positions (93.1/100). This is 13.8 fewer points than neighbouring country Norway in third place.
Following in second place is Finland with a combined score of 227.6 out of 300, 13.8 fewer points than Sweden. Finland has scored 86.2/100 points for women in leadership positions and economic opportunity. This is 65.5 more points for women in leadership than Estonia in seventh with 20.7 out of 100 for this category.
In third place is Norway with a combined total of 213.8 points out of a possible 300, 6.8 more points than Lithuania in fourth. The data shows that the country offers 39.9 full paid weeks of maternity leave, giving them a score of 55.2/100, equal to the maternity leave in Finland.
Reboot CEO and co-founder, Naomi Aharony, commented on these findings: “The overall results have suggested that there is some progress in terms of gender equality in the workplace in Europe. Norway, Finland and Sweden ranked highly, indicating that there are some improvements being made. Although, the disappointing positions of European countries such as Austria and Czech Republic reaffirm that the progress towards gender parity remains slow in Europe.
Although it is good to see some advancement, women still face numerous challenges when it comes to gender equality in the workplace that involves not only the wage gap, lack of leadership representation, government incentives and work-life balance.”
