Equality is far from real in managerial positions in the companies and workplace in the European Union (EU).
According to the latest data produced by the statistical office of the EU (Eurostat), more than 6.7 million persons hold a managerial position in the EU of 27 Member States. Of them, 4.3 million are men (63% of all managers) and 2.5 million women (37%).
In addition, women account for a little over one quarter of board members of publicly listed companies in the EU (28%), and for less than one fifth of senior executives (18%) in 2019.
In other words, although representing approximately half of all employed persons in the EU, women continue to be under-represented amongst managers.
Source: Eurostat.
Latvia has the largest share
The largest share of women among managerial positions is recorded in Latvia, the only Member State where women are a majority (53%) in this occupation.
It is followed by Bulgaria (49%), Poland (48%), Estonia (46%), Slovenia (44%), Lithuania, Hungary and Sweden (all 42%), Ireland (41%) and Portugal (40%).
At the opposite end of the scale, women account for less than a third of managers in Cyprus (19%), followed by Luxembourg (23%), Denmark (27%), Italy (28%), the Netherlands (29%), Czechia and Germany (both 31%), as well as Greece, Croatia, Malta and Austria (all 32%).
At EU level, just over a third (37%) of managers are women. This share increased slightly compared with 2012 (36%). Finland is also below the EU average.
Board Members
Regarding board members, the largest share of female in the largest publicly listed companies is recorded in France (45%), followed by Sweden (38%), Belgium, Germany and Italy (all 36%) as well as the Netherlands and Finland (both 34%).
At the opposite end of the scale, women account for less than a fifth of board members in Estonia and Cyprus (both 9%), Greece and Malta (both 10%), Lithuania (12%), Luxembourg, Hungary and Romania (all 13%) as well as in Czechia (18%) and Bulgaria (19%).
At EU level, just over a quarter (28%) of board members are women. Since 2012, this share has increased by 13 percentage points from 15%.
Senior executives![Femal-senior-executives-EU]()
Among EU Member States, women account for around a third of senior executives in the largest publicly listed companies in Romania (34%), Estonia (33%), Lithuania (30%) and Latvia (29%), and around a quarter of senior executives in Bulgaria and Slovenia (both 27%) as well as in Sweden (24%).
At the opposite end of the scale, the lowest share of female senior executives is recorded in Luxembourg (6%) and Austria (8%), followed by Czechia (11%), Croatia and Italy (both 12%), Belgium and Slovakia (both 13%), Germany and Poland (both 14%) as well as in the Netherlands and Portugal (both 15%).
At EU level, less than a fifth (18%) of senior executives are women; up by 8 percentage points compared with 2012 (10%). In this case, Finland is above the EU average.
