In a study by the International Labour Organization (ILO), researchers studied the male-to-female ratio of big business managers in countries around the world and found that Togo led the pack with more than 70 per cent of all managerial positions filled by women, closely followed by Nigeria and Jordan.
The highest-ranking European country is Belarus, in rank 13, with 50.5 per cent of female managers. The numbers also show that only 13 out of all countries reporting these figures to the ILO between 2016 and 2020 have achieved gender parity in leadership positions.
Generally, Eastern European countries and former Soviet Republics score high in the ranking, as do African and Caribbean nations. The study also notes that women are most likely to hold managerial positions in human resources, administration, finance, marketing or public relations – areas the organisation defines as business support functions.
While the study shows that more women are involved in more senior roles than they have been in previous years, it also highlights the progress yet to be made. At the bottom of the list are countries like Yemen, Pakistan and Algeria, where only a fraction of bosses are women. Overall, the bottom list is occupied by countries in or around the Middle East and North Africa.
