Nearly 9.4 million persons hold a managerial position in the European Union (EU): 6.0 million men (64% of all managers) and 3.4 million women (36%).
In addition, women account for a little over one quarter of board members of publicly listed companies in the EU (27%), and for less than one fifth of senior executives (17%) in 2018. In other words, although representing approximately half of all employed persons in the EU, women continue to be under-represented amongst managers.
This information is published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, on the occasion of International Women’s Day. This News Release only shows a small part of the large amount of gender based data available at Eurostat.
The largest share of women among managerial positions is recorded in Latvia (56%), the only Member State where women are a majority (56%) in this occupation. It is followed by Bulgaria and Estonia (both 49%), Poland and Slovenia (both 47%), Hungary (43%), Lithuania and Sweden (both 42%), Ireland (41%), and Slovakia (40%).
At the opposite end of the scale, women account for less than a third of managers in Luxembourg (15%), followed by Cyprus (23%), Czechia, Denmark, Italy and the Netherlands (all 29%), Germany (30%), as well as Greece and Austria (both 32%). At EU level, about a third (36%) of managers are women. This share remained stable since 2012.
The largest share of female board members in the largest publicly listed companies is recorded in France (44%), followed by Italy and Sweden (both 36%), Finland (35%), and Germany (34%).
At the opposite end of the scale, women account for less than a fifth of board members in Estonia (8%), Greece (9%), Malta (10%), Cyprus, Lithuania and Romania (all 11%), Luxembourg (13%), Czechia (14%), Bulgaria and Hungary (15%), Croatia (17%), as well as in Ireland (19%).
At EU level, just over a quarter (27%) of board members are women. Over the last five years, this share has increased by 9 percentage points (18% in 2013).
Among EU Member States, women account for over a quarter of senior executives in the largest publicly listed companies in Lithuania (28%), followed by Bulgaria and Latvia (both 27%), as well as in Romania (25%).
At the opposite end of the scale, the lowest share of female senior executives is recorded in Austria (5%), Czechia (6%), Italy (9%), Portugal (10%), Denmark (11%), Luxembourg, Hungary and Poland (all 13%), Belgium, Germany and Spain (all 14%), and in Cyprus (15%).
At EU level, less than a fifth (17%) of senior executives are women; up by 5 percentage points compared with five years ago (12% in 2013).
