Women represented 47.1% of people employed in Germany in 2025, yet held 30.3% of management posts, below the EU average, the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) said Oct. 19. The agency based its figures on Eurostat data.
Across the European Union, women accounted for 46.5% of employed people and 35.9% of managers. Germany’s employment share was higher than the EU figure, while its management share was lower.
The percentages use different bases: one measures women among all employed people, while the other measures their share of management roles. They do not show what proportion of employed women hold management jobs.
Destatis counted about 569,100 women in Germany’s management roles, compared with 1.31 million men. The category includes small-business managers, managers or division heads at larger companies, and senior public administration officials.
Germany’s share of women managers was 29.3% in 2015, making the increase to 30.3% over the next decade 1 percentage point. The EU share rose by 4 percentage points over the same period.
Austria had a similar share of women among employed people, at 47.5%, but women accounted for 37.2% of its managers.
In the third quarter of 2026, women held 42.6% of senior and junior ministerial posts in Germany, compared with 33.5% across the EU, according to the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE).
