While the grand duchy made its biggest improvements in the equal gender distribution of power, scoring 48.4, it still ranks in sixteenth place and lags behind the EU-28 average of 53.5.

Using data mostly gathered in 2018, the European Institute for Gender Equality’s (EIGE) index found women made up 12.9% of board members in the largest quoted companies, half the average proportion recorded in the EU-28.

Yet women accounted for just over half of board members of research funding organisations in Luxembourg, compared to 37.6% in the EU-28.

Things were a little better in the political milieu where women accounted for 27% of MPs but only a quarter of ministers in Luxembourg, compared to three out of ten ministers and MPs in the EU-28. The split for regional assemblies was similar.  

Luxembourg ranked first for gender equality in money, yet its score lost 1.8 points for money, 1.1 for time and 0.3 for health, dropping two places in the ranking for the latter category to occupy tenth place.  

The index was published on 29 October. A score of 100 means a country has reached full equality between men and women. According to the EIGE’s findings, the EU is at least 60 years away from reaching complete gender equality.