Women in Germany have effectively worked unpaid for the first 66 days of 2025, with Equal Pay Day highlighting the persistent gender pay gap.

The latest figures from the Federal Statistical Office show that in 2024, the gender pay gap stood at 16 percent. The previous year’s data, on which this year’s Equal Pay Day is based, showed an 18 percent gap, meaning that for nearly a fifth of the year, women worked without pay in comparison to men.

The disparity is deeply embedded in the labour market. Women are still more likely to work in lower-paid sectors, take career breaks for childcare, and work part-time — often out of necessity rather than choice. According to the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB), women make up over 70 percent of the social work sector, where jobs are notoriously underpaid despite their essential role in society. [...]