Slovenia is among the countries with the highest share of women in managerial positions. According to data published on March 8th, 44 percent of the managerial positions in Slovenia are held by women.
The gap is even larger when we look at senior executives in the largest companies. In the EU less than one fifth (18%) of the top positions in large companies are held by women. Slovenia is again in fifth place here, with a 27 percent share of female senior executives. In fact, the largest Slovenian company, Petrol, is led by a woman, Nada Drobne Popović. Adria Mobil, one of the leading European producers of motorhomes and caravans, has been successfully led by Sonja Gole for almost 25 years. Varis manufactures prefabricated bathrooms for prestigious hotel chains and is led by Sabina Sobočan. Even Slovenia’s police and armed forces were headed by women until this March.
Not everything is perfect, of course. The share of female board members in the largest companies is around 20 percent - below the EU average of 28 percent. There’s still an employment gap: 79 percent of Slovenian males in the age group between 20 and 64 are employed, compared to only 71.7 percent of females. The EU average for female employment rate is at 66.5 percent. When it comes to education, female employees far outclass their male counterparts: 45 percent of employed women have college or university education, compared to only 26 percent of employed males.
