EU Institute for Gender Equality: ‘Men control the money in the EU’

Gender Equality in Power and Decision-Making: Report

New study shows women missing from top finance jobs

Men dominate central banks, finance ministries and boardrooms throughout Europe with only one in every 25 top jobs held by a woman, according to a new report on equality between women and men.

An in-depth study ‘Gender Equality in Power and Decision-Making’ by the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE), showed that while women occupy one-third of top political roles in the European Union, in finance they are much less well-represented.

‘The money belongs to all of us,’ says EIGE’s Director Virginija Langbakk. ‘Why is it that only men get to decide how it is spent? It’s like something out of the 19th century!’

The report looks at how men and women are represented in power and decision-making positions in the public, economic and social sectors in all 28 EU Member States between 2003 and 2014.

While progress has been made in many areas, especially in politics, it has been almost nonexistent in finance, the report concludes. Of the 28 central bank governors, only one – of Cyprus – is a woman; and there are only two women finance ministers – from Romania and Sweden. Of the biggest companies publicly listed in the EU only 4 % have women Chief Executives.

‘Control of the money is still dominated by men,’ says Langbakk. ‘We’ve all become more aware of women’s role in politics and other areas and we’ve made some progress there, but still not in finance. It’s time finance caught up.’

Read more on EIGE’s website