In Portugal, women make up 92.4% of personal care and related workers, 88.2% of cleaning staff, 76.8% of health professionals, and 76.2% of teachers, according to 2022 data published by the Observatory of Gender, Work and Power, an institution of ISEG — Lisbon School of Economics & Management led by expert Sara Falcão Casaca.
The figures show a female representation of 76.6% among intermediate-level health technicians and professionals, 74.8% among office workers, general secretaries, and data processing operators, and 71.5% among specialists in legal, social, artistic, and cultural matters.
Professions also prominently occupied by women include food preparation assistants (68.3%), other administrative support personnel (67.8%), direct client support staff (64.2%), salespeople (61.8%), and personal services workers (60.3%).
Conversely, women’s presence is lower than 30% in professions such as legislative representatives, executives, senior public administration, specialized organization directors, and business managers (28.1%), or farmers and skilled agricultural and animal production workers targeting the market (24.1%).
Among information and communication technologies technicians, women held 22.4% of positions, as well as 22.1% among ICT specialists and 21.2% in intermediate-level science and engineering technicians and professions.
Gender segregation is even more evident, with less than 20% female participation in professions like non-food street vendors and service providers (19.2%), protection and security service staff (16.2%), skilled forestry, fishing, and hunting workers (6.8%), and skilled metallurgy and similar workers (4.1%).
The lowest female representation is found among vehicle and mobile equipment operators (3.6%), skilled electricity and electronics workers (2.4%), and, with the lowest percentage, skilled construction workers and similar, except electricians (1.3%).
The observatory director points out that the data confirm a significant presence of professions in Portugal where the majority (60%) are men or predominantly male (80% or more), indicating that stereotypical conceptions, which are present from the start of socialization, notably in the family, continue to shape the educational and formative choices of boys and girls.
