Ahead of International Women’s Day tomorrow a survey from Eurostat found that:
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Nearly 9.4 million people hold a managerial position in the European Union – 6.0 million men (64% of all managers) and 3.4 million women (36%)
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In Ireland – 41% of managers are female, however when it comes to senior executives in Ireland there are just 16% that are female
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In Ireland, just 19% of Boards are made up with females
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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
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Although representing approximately half of all people employed in the EU, women continue to be under-represented amongst managers.
As we celebrate International Women’s Day on Friday around the world, figures show that women remain underrepresented in the business and political world. We have to continue to do all we can to support women across all aspects of society. Be it a women who wants to return to work after having children or a women who would like to embark on a political career – it is vital that supports are in place to ensure women can make this happen.
We are working hard at EU level at the European Parliament to bring in measures to ensure people are entitled to things like flexible working conditions which will go a long way to helping women advance in their careers. Earlier this year the European Parliament and the Council reached a deal on a Work/Life Balance Package. The aim of the measures is to help workers balance their professional and family lives and to work towards a modern family policy and economic prosperity for families all around Europe.
Work/Life balance is an issue which concerns many people in the workforce and it needs to be tackled with concrete policy measures both in Europe and in Ireland. The workplace can be an exciting and exhilarating place. However it can also be a challenging place. What many people will struggle with is getting their work/life balance right. We are doing a lot of work at the European Parliament on the promotion of a good work/life balance and I am delighted to see there are now further developments in this area which can help those in the workforce who need it.
