Women hold 30.3% of managerial positions in Germany, lagging behind EU average

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) - Women hold 30.3% of managerial positions in Germany in 2025, falling well below the EU average of 35.9%, official data showed on Monday.

According to data from Eurostat released by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), around 1.3 million men held management roles in Germany in 2025, compared to 569,100 women.

Sweden took the top spot in the EU comparison with women filling 44.4% of leadership positions, followed by Latvia at 43.8% and Estonia at 43.1%.

Over a 10-year period, the proportion of female executives in Germany rose by one percentage point from 29.3% in 2015, while the EU average increased by four percentage points over the same timeframe.

Malta saw the highest increase over the decade at 13.9 percentage points, followed by Estonia at 12 percentage points and Austria at 7.5 percentage points.

The low share of women in leadership in Germany comes despite high female employment, with women making up 47.1% of all employed persons in 2025, slightly above the EU average of 46.5%.

Meanwhile, women made up 42.6% of government members in Germany in the third quarter of 2026, exceeding the EU average of 33.5%, according to the European Institute for Gender Equality.

Finland recorded the highest share of women in government across the EU at 56.7%, while Denmark reached 52.4% and Sweden achieved gender parity at 50%.

Gökhan Ergöçün