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New figures from Eurostat indicate that Cyprus has the lowest proportion of women in management roles among European Union countries. In 2024, women occupied 25.3% of managerial positions in Cyprus, placing the country at the bottom of the EU ranking.
Across the European Union, women held 35.2% of management posts in 2024. This represents a noticeable increase compared with 31.8% in 2014, showing gradual progress in women’s representation in leadership positions across the bloc.
Eurostat’s data also highlights differences by age group. Women are most strongly represented among younger managers, making up 39.0% of managers aged 15–39. Their share falls in older groups, accounting for 34.4% of managers aged 40–64 and only 26.5% among those aged 65 and over.
When comparing individual EU countries, Sweden (44.4%), Latvia (43.4%), and Poland (41.8%) recorded the highest proportions of female managers in 2024. At the lower end of the scale, after Cyprus, the smallest shares were found in Croatia (27.6%) and Italy (27.9%).
Despite ranking last, Cyprus has still seen improvement over the past decade. Since 2014, the share of women in managerial roles there has increased by 7.9 percentage points. Overall, 24 EU countries reported growth in women’s representation in management during the same period. The largest gains were recorded in Luxembourg (+13.7 percentage points) and Malta (+10.1 points).
However, a few countries experienced declines. The most notable drops occurred in Slovenia (-3.8 points), Latvia (-0.7 points), and Lithuania (-0.2 points).
Eurostat released the data as part of a series of statistical reports ahead of International Women’s Day on 8 March, highlighting gender equality trends across Europe.
