Romania has one of the smallest gender pay gaps in the European Union: 3.6%, according to Eurostat data for 2023, compared to a European average of approximately 12%. At first glance, this figure may seem like good news. In reality, however, it can also serve as a form of statistical reassurance: a low percentage creates the impression that the problem is nearly solved, CONAF notes in a press release.
June 7, 2026, marked the deadline by which European Union member states were required to transpose Directive (EU) 2023/970 on pay transparency and the application of the principle of equal pay for equal work or work of equal value. In Romania, this milestone passed almost unnoticed. The two facts are linked: precisely because the aggregate pay gap appears small, the need for more precise measurement seems less urgent.
However, a small wage gap, calculated as an average, does not tell us enough about the actual mechanisms at work in the economy. It does not show what happens within companies, among employees in comparable positions with similar responsibilities. It does not show the differences that arise after promotions, after parental leave, or after career breaks. It does not show whether women and men follow the same wage trajectories after 5, 10, or 15 years of work.
Research by economist Claudia Goldin, winner of the 2023 Nobel Prize in Economics, has shown that a significant portion of the wage gap cannot be explained solely by the choice of different occupations or by educational attainment. The gap widens in relation to motherhood, career continuity, the distribution of caregiving responsibilities, and the way companies reward constant availability, long hours, and uninterrupted career paths.
This is where the importance of the Pay Transparency Directive comes into play. It calls for tools to identify these differences more accurately: reporting, comparisons by employee category, access to information on pay criteria, and, where appropriate, joint pay assessments. In other words, the directive is not just a European bureaucratic requirement, but an economic diagnostic tool.
For Romania, the issue is not merely whether the official pay gap is small. The issue is whether the Romanian economy has sufficient tools to see where these differences arise, how they accumulate, and what costs they generate. An aggregate percentage can mask career interruptions, the undervaluation of care work, productivity losses, and underutilized economic potential.
“A small gap does not mean a small problem. It means a problem you can’t see yet. The 3.6% figure does not tell us that women are paid fairly—it only tells us that we haven’t looked closely enough. The directive gave us a magnifying glass. We missed the deadline to use it,” says Dr. Cristina Chiriac, Ph.D. in Economics, president of CONAF.
The mechanism behind this figure and the real cost of labor that the Romanian economy fails to account for are the subject of the report “The Economic Status of Romanian Women in 2026,” which is currently being finalized.
About CONAF
The National Confederation for Women’s Entrepreneurship (CONAF) is one of the most important organizations in Romania dedicated to promoting entrepreneurship, engaging in dialogue with authorities, and developing public policies for sustainable economic growth. The organization supports Romanian entrepreneurship and the development of a modern, equitable, and inclusive entrepreneurial culture.