Women in management: progress is needed at all levels

At the occasion of the 2019 International Women’s Day, Eurostat issued some figures on the presence of women in managerial positions in the EU. Promoting the advancement the underrepresented gender in leadership positions is a priority for CEC.

Eurostat

“The figures issued by Eurostat on the number of women holding managerial positions in the EU gives a picture of what still needs to be done to reach an effective gender equity in this field”, explained Ebba Ohlund, Deputy Secretary General of CEC European Managers. “The report mentions clearly how the share of women holding managerial posts has remained stable at 36% since 2012, whereas limited progress was registered for women sitting in boards of companies or holding top-level positions of executive nature”.

While such progress is a good sign that equality (especially in those countries having adopted legislation in this field) on the top is slowly advancing, there is a need to intervene at the other levels, especially at the center of the pyramid. “The presence of women at all hierarchical levels is fundamental to really make the change in business cultures effective and ensure that in our societies – also outside the workplace – gender equality does not remain a goal to attain but a reality.

To ensure this, we need to increase work-life balance, improve child-care facilities and build the conditions for a truly gender-neutral approach to taking up family responsibilities” concluded Ebba Ohlund.

CEC European Managers has concluded in 2014 a European project on how to increase the share of women in managerial positions. Please find more information about the project and the report “Promoting women in management” here.