Gender wealth inequality in the European Union is greater among the medium and higher wealth strata of society, and the gap is widening, according to a working paper from the Brussels-based economic think-tank Bruegel.
The study investigates gender-related disparities in wealth in EU countries using the 2010-21 editions of the European Central Bank’s Household Finance and Consumption Survey. To provide a cleaner comparison of men and women’s wealth situation, sidestepping the complications of allocations within households, the authors focus on single households – never-married individuals aged between 25 and 65 and without dependants.
No significant overall wealth gap
The analysis does not reveal a statistically significant gender wealth gap in the EU overall, or in most EU countries. Examined in relation to wealth distribution, the gap among the less wealthy is negligible.
However, significant gaps are visible among the middle wealth echelons and the wealthiest individuals, a disparity that was barely visible in 2010 but which had become pronounced by 2021.
Men are more likely to own property, operate businesses and invest in risky financial assets, all major drivers of wealth. By contrast, women hold more bank deposits and low-risk assets. Although women on average have higher educational qualifications, this does not fully translate into financial outcomes.
In detail
A substantial gender gap exists among more wealthy households. Overall, when controlled for demographic, labour market and socioeconomic factors, no statistically significant gender wealth gap was identified across the EU overall or within most member states. Examining the wealth distribution using quantile regression, gaps are negligible among less wealthy households, but substantial differences emerge in the middle and upper parts of the wealth distribution.
The wealth gap has widened in a decade. The gender wealth gap was minimal in 2010 across the full wealth distribution, but had become significant for middle and upper wealth echelons by 2021. Progress in gender equality in education and labour force participation has not translated into wealth equality among the higher-earning strata of society.
Gender-based differences in asset allocation. Men are more likely to own real estate, manage businesses and hold financial assets that entail higher risk but also higher returns. By contrast, women tend to hold larger volumes of safer assets such as bank deposits. These patterns apply even after controlling for education and income, indicating gender differences in financial behaviour and risk preferences.
Disparities between countries. While some countries display relatively small gender wealth gaps, others exhibit stark disparities, particularly at the top of the distribution. For example, at the 90th percentile, the gap ranges from 14% in Finland to 22% in France, 33% in the Netherlands and nearly 63% in Austria.
Women’s educational advances not reflected in wealth. Educational attainment, in which women often outperform men, does not fully compensate for these wealth gaps. The positive association of education with wealth accumulation appears weaker for women, possibly because of differences in employment opportunities, career interruptions and investment behaviour.
Policy implications
The paper’s findings support the need for targeted intervention to reduce gender disparities in wealth accumulation, ensuring equal pay and career opportunities and limited career interruption for childbirth, as well as addressing other structural gender inequality factors.
The authors argue that policies should also address differences in asset ownership and investment behaviour if they result from unequal access, information gaps or institutional barriers.
In addition, financial literacy programmes tailored to women and measures to promote female entrepreneurship could help to narrow the gender wealth gap by playing a role in shaping women’s investment knowledge and preferences.
Related VitalBriefing content:
EU Gender Equality Index: women’s financial insecurity underpinned by gender stereotypes
The Gender Equality Index 2025 compiled by the European Institute for Gender Equality, an EU agency headquartered in Vilnius, Lithuania, reports that while gender equality in the EU is slowly improving, major areas of inequality remain affecting all aspects of women’s lives, including the workplace and financial wellbeing. The overall Gender Equality Index score for the EU…
How positive education can challenge the financial industry’s gender stereotypes
While there has been progress toward gender equality in business leadership, it remains stubbornly slow. Across the European Union, women held 35.2% of managerial roles in 2024, up from 31.8% a decade earlier, according to the European Commission. The pattern is echoed worldwide. In the United States, female representation in the highest corporate echelons has…
Gender Finance: Women’s crucial role in the future of Europe’s investment market
Wealth is on the move, with trillions of dollars’ worth of assets set to shift from the Baby Boomer generation of the post-World War II years into new hands over the coming years. And while this handover, dubbed the Great Wealth Transfer, represents a significant shift of economic resources, more importantly, it will hand women…
