A gap below the EU average

The Federal Statistical Office in Wiesbaden reported on Monday, 19 October 2026, that women held 30.3% of leadership positions in Germany in 2025. Citing Eurostat figures, the office put the European Union average for the same year at 35.9%, which leaves Germany clearly below the bloc. Women make up 47.1% of employed people in Germany, slightly above the EU share of 46.5%, so the statisticians say the low share of female leaders stands out. In 2025 about 1.31 million men and 569,100 women held leadership roles in the country, according to the Eurostat data cited by the agency.

A slow climb over a decade

Over the past ten years the German share rose by one percentage point, from 29.3% in 2015 to 30.3% in 2025. The EU average gained four percentage points over the same period. The German share had stood at 29.1% in 2024, so the series has moved only slightly from year to year. Among the figures compared, Germany's progress is the weakest of the group that the office measured against the Union as a whole.

2015

29.3 %

2024

29.1 %

2025

30.3 %

Data from the article text

Where Germany ranks in the EU

Sweden leads the Union at 44.4%, followed by Latvia at 43.8%, Estonia at 43.1% and Poland at 42.5%, which places Poland fourth. Austria, at 37.2%, sits above both the EU average and Germany. At the bottom, Cyprus records 25.9%, Italy 28.6% and the Netherlands 30.0%, all three below the German figure. The largest increases were recorded in Malta, Estonia and Austria, which the reporting cites as the countries that gained most in recent years.

Sweden44.4%

Latvia43.8%

Estonia43.1%

Poland42.5%

Austria37.2%

EU average35.9%

Germany30.3%

Netherlands30%

Italy28.6%

Cyprus25.9%

Sweden

44.4 %

Latvia

43.8 %

Estonia

43.1 %

Poland

42.5 %

Austria

37.2 %

EU average

35.9 %

Germany

30.3 %

Netherlands

30 %

Italy

28.6 %

Cyprus

25.9 %

Data from the article text

Women in government

The picture is different in politics. Women held 42.6% of government members in Germany in the third quarter of 2026, according to data from the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE), against an EU average of 33.5%. Finland has the highest share in the EU at 56.7%, followed by Denmark at 52.4%. The stronger government figure contrasts with the weaker share of leadership posts in business and public administration.

Finland56.7%

Denmark52.4%

Germany42.6%

EU average33.5%

Finland

56.7 %

Denmark

52.4 %

Germany

42.6 %

EU average

33.5 %

Data from the article text

What the statisticians point out

The office stresses that the low share of female leaders stands out because nearly as many women as men are in paid work. Italy has a leadership share close to Germany's despite a clearly lower employment rate for women, and its share of employed women stands at 42.6%. Austria has a similar female employment share of 47.5%, yet 37.2% of its leaders are women. The statistics count as leaders the managing directors of small companies, the managing directors or division heads of large companies, and senior posts in public administration. Germany's leadership share is therefore measured on that definition, which covers both business and public administration.