What is the proportion of women in managerial positions? Managerial positions include managers of small enterprises, corporate managers and senior officials.
Even though the percentage of women in all persons in employment has markedly increased, women still often choose their occupation within a limited range of activities. All together, the percentages of women in the various occupational groups have not changed much since the early 1990s. Choosing typical female or male occupations frequently involves differences in earnings and careers.
Only one in three managers is a woman
Less than one in three legislators, senior officials and managers (28.7%) was female in 2023. This proportion has not changed much since 2012, when the current classification was introduced. The proportion of female legislators, senior officials and managers increased from 25.8% in 1992 to 30.3% in 2011. These values have only a limited comparability with the current results due to the different classification.
Managerial positions include directors and managers and senior officials in trade, production and service activities.
| Age from ... to ... years | 2023 |
|---|---|
| 1: Managerial occupations = employed in ISCO-major group 1. / = No response, because numerical value is not reliable enough. Source: Labour Force Survey. | |
| 15 to 24 | / |
| 25 to 34 | 33.6 |
| 25 to 64 | 28.9 |
| 35 to 44 | 29.7 |
| 45 to 54 | 28.6 |
| 55 to 64 | 26.1 |
| 65 to 74 | 23.8 |
| 75 and older | / |
More women in academic occupations
The differences between men and women were much smaller among professionals such as physicians, legal professionals, teachers or social scientists (ISCO group 2). There the proportion of women was 50.1% in 2023. Compared to legislators, senior officials and managers female professionals have increased significantly since the 1990s.
Information on the Indicator
Description or definition
Percentage of women in all employed persons (aged 15 years and older) in all employed persons (aged 15 years and older) by occupation (ISCO major groups 1).
ISCO is the International Standard Classification of Occupations.
Source
Labour Force Survey.
Information for interpretation
A break in the time series is visible in 2012 due to the introduction of the new International Classification of Occupations (ISCO-08).
Compared to other sources - depending on source - different classifications terms of executives and graduate professionals are possible.
The microcensus with the integrated European labour force survey has been redesigned in 2020. The list of questions and the concept of the sample survey were modified, and with the introduction of an online questionnaire, the form of data collection were also changed. The results from survey year 2020 onward are therefore comparable with those of previous years only to a limited extent.
Further methodological changes affecting the results were performed in 2005, 2011 and 2021. Consequently, the results for those years can be compared with the results for previous years to a limited extent only.
The extrapolation of microcensus data uses the population figures from the 2011 Census, which was conducted as at 9 May 2011. The results have been revised from 2010 onwards. With effect from the year 2016, the sample is based on the 2011 census data. This transition affects the comparability of the results with previous years.
For more information please refer to Methods: Quality Reports and Explanations (only in German).
Further information
Redesigned microcensus as of 2020