The number of Maltese women in middle and senior management positions has grown by more than seven per cent over the last 10 years, according to a new study by the International Labour Organisation.
While Malta is only in 68th position out of 108 countries studied, it now performs better than some of its European counterparts, including Italy, Greece, Luxembourg and Cyprus.
The study, ‘Women in Business and Management: Gaining Momentum’, found that in Malta women occupied just over a quarter – 27.8 per cent – of managerial positions in 2012.
Jamaica has the highest proportion of women managers, at 59.3 per cent, while Yemen has the lowest with 2.1 per cent.
There is still a long way to go to achieve true gender equality
The US lies in 15th place on the list, with 42.7 per cent, while Russia is 25th (39.1 per cent) and the UK lies in 41st (34.2 per cent). Latvia, one of the smallest EU member states, has the best record in the EU – 45.7 per cent of all managers there were women. At 39.4 per cent, France places second.
An ILO spokesman said the research showed that women’s ever-increasing participation in the labour market has been the biggest engine of global growth and competitiveness.
“An increasing number of studies are also demonstrating positive links between women’s participation in top decision-making teams and structures, and business performance. But there is still a long way to go to achieve true gender equality in the workplace especially when it comes to top management positions,” the spokesman underlined.
The study shows that only five per cent or fewer of the CEOs of the world’s largest corporations are women and the larger the company the less likely it is to be headed by a female.
All-male company boards are still common but are decreasing in number, with women occupying 20 per cent or more of all board seats in a handful of countries.
A global survey quoted in the study shows that Norway has the highest proportion of companies where a woman chairs the board, with 13.3 per cent, followed by Turkey at 11.1 per cent.
No data is available for Malta in this category.