Eurofound Talks
Eurofound Talks
Podcast episode
Episode 42
6 March 2026

Is work in Europe more stressful for women?

In a special video recorded for International Women's Day at the European Parliament’s VoxBox Studios, Maria Walsh MEP and Eurofound’s Barbara Gerstenberger analyse key gender equality findings from a survey of over 36,000 workers across 35 countries. Their conversation highlights how women have been impacted by significant shifts in the workplace, particularly regarding modern challenges like burnout and technostress.

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Barbara Gerstenberger

​Head of Unit
Working life research

Barbara Gerstenberger is Head of the Working Life unit at Eurofound. In this role, she coordinates the research teams investigating job quality in Europe based on the European Working Conditions Survey and industrial relations in the EU. She joined Eurofound in 2001 as a research manager in the then newly established European Monitoring Centre on Change (EMCC). In 2007, she moved to Eurofound’s Information and Communication unit as Head of Communication Products, before being appointed Coordinator in the Directorate in 2011. Previously, she worked as senior research officer in the European Metalworkers’ Federation in Brussels. A graduate in political science from Hamburg University, she completed a Master's degree in Public Administration at the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.

Recently published podcast episode

Podcast episode
Episode 45
29 May 2026
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Since its launch in 1990, the European Working Conditions Survey has provided a comprehensive overview of working conditions in Europe. The EWCS 2024 asserts that the European labour market is in transition, pointing to a decline in long working hours and uneven improvements in job quality. In this episode of Eurofound Talks, Mary McCaughey invites Senior Research Manager Agnès Parent-Thirion to talk about the survey behind the headlines, and the work that goes into carrying it out.

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Mary McCaughey
Agnès Parent-Thirion
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European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions
The tripartite EU agency providing knowledge to assist in the development of better social, employment and work-related policies