Construction BUSINESS

During the year of 2014, nearly five million tertiary education students graduated within the European Union (EU). The data showed that 58% were women and 42% men. Nonetheless, males account for 73% of total EU graduates in the study of engineering, manufacturing and construction. Men make up 58% in science, mathematics and computing. The data is issued by the statistical office of the European Union, Eurostat.

The share of male graduates in engineering, manufacturing and construction ranged from 61% in Poland to 85% in Ireland. Science, mathematics and computing is another male field in most Member States – apart from Romania (41% of the graduates in this field are men), Portugal (43%), Cyprus (46%), Italy (47%) and Bulgaria (50%). The highest share of male graduates in science, mathematics and computing was in Netherlands (73%), well above the EU average level (58%).

On the other hand, four out of five graduates in education are women (80%). Another field where women are largely overrepresented is health and welfare, with 75% female graduates.

Just 10% of tertiary education graduates in Ireland were in the field of engineering, manufacturing and construction in 2014, compared to the EU average of 14.4%. Austria, Finland and Germany had the highest number of graduates in this field (20.8%, 20.5% and 20.4%, respectively). Luxembourg (5.6%), the Netherlands (8.2%) and Malta (8.6%) had fewest graduates in this area in 2014.

In all Member States, there were more women among tertiary education graduates than men (58% of graduates were women at EU level). The share of female graduates was particularly high in Estonia and Poland (both 66%). The most balanced gender distribution was observed in Germany (51%) and Ireland (52%).

Eurostat is a statistical office within the European Union head-quartered in Luxembourg. It functions to supply the EU with data and figures at European level that authorize similarities between both countries and regions.