In Belgium, more women are entering professions that were long male strongholds — and the gap is narrowing
A Belgian press report says several professions — from medicine and pharmacy to law and accountancy — are drawing steadily more women, narrowing a gender gap that shaped the country's labour market for decades.
In 30 seconds
- La Dernière Heure reported on 15 July 2026 that a range of Belgian professions are attracting steadily more women, narrowing the gender gap.
- Medicine, pharmacy and veterinary science have for years drawn a majority of women among new graduates and registrants, according to widely reported education and professional data.
- Law has followed a similar path, with women a large and often majority share of newly qualified avocats and a growing presence in the magistrature.
- Statbel and the Institut pour l'égalité des femmes et des hommes publish official, sex-disaggregated labour and pay-gap data for Belgium.
The story concerns a documented long-term shift in Belgium's labour market: women's rising share of entrants into qualified, credentialed professions. Key named actors include Statbel (the federal statistics office), the Institut pour l'égalité des femmes et des hommes / Instituut voor de gelijkheid van vrouwen en mannen (the federal gender-equality body), the francophone (FOREM, Actiris) and Flemish (VDAB) employment services, universities such as ULB, UCLouvain, KU Leuven and Ghent, and professional bodies including the Ordre des médecins and the bar associations. The trend spans medicine, pharmacy, veterinary science, law and accountancy, and is reported by the Brussels daily La Dernière Heure.
Background
Belgium's professions were overwhelmingly male into the late 20th century, when access to higher education and to the liberal professions was far more constrained for women. The expansion of women's participation in universities from the 1970s onward, and their eventual majority among students in fields such as medicine and law, set up a slow generational replacement that is now visible in the age profile of these professions. The persistence of horizontal segregation and of a gender pay gap reflects the incomplete nature of that transition.
What to do
To verify or research the trend for a specific field, start with Statbel (statbel.fgov.be) for sex-disaggregated labour data and the IEFH/IGVM (igvm-iefh.belgium.be) for pay-gap analysis; for entry requirements consult the relevant professional order or bar and your regional employment service (FOREM/Actiris or VDAB), noting that francophone and Dutch-language procedures differ.
Impact
Regional — The trend is federal but is navigated through region-specific institutions: francophone Wallonia and Brussels via FOREM, Actiris and francophone professional orders, and Flanders via VDAB. The statistical direction is consistent across the language communities, but the portals, forms and vocabulary differ.
EvidenceDeveloping · 1 primary source + 1 official document · some details remain unconfirmedExplore evidence →Hide evidence ↑
- Published:
- 15 Jul 2026, 02:00
- Retrieved by ODIN:
- 4 Aug 2026
- Publication date unavailable
- Retrieved by ODIN:
- 4 Aug 2026
- Publication date unavailable
- Retrieved by ODIN:
- 4 Aug 2026
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This story was assembled from verified evidence, with its sources and reasoning recorded as it was written.