In recent years – largely thanks to the coronavirus pandemic – many companies have been forced to reassess accepted patterns. Traditional business models have been replaced by more flexible work structures, and increased gender diversity at management levels offers companies many commercial advantages. The current research by Dun & Bradstreet titled ‘Women in Leadership Positions’ indicates a consistent trend of decreasing numbers of companies employing exclusively men in leadership positions over the past five years, for most of the countries covered by the study.
In Croatia, there has been a recorded increase in the representation of women in leadership positions of 0.7% across all distributions since 2018.
Together with the other 16 countries included in the study, we arrive at a total average growth of +2.3%.
In addition to reviewing the position of women in leadership positions in the USA and 16 European countries, where only growth rates expressed as a percentage were considered, the share of women in management positions was analyzed in relation to company size, the 10 leading industries with the highest share of women in leadership positions, economic development, such as business growth and employee development, and the approach to issues related to environmental, social, and governance factors.
State of the Region vs. Europe
A surprising fact is that in our region, Bosnia and Herzegovina leads in the increase of women in leadership positions with an increase of as much as 4.5%. It is followed by Slovenia with an increase of 1.5%, then Croatia with an increase of 0.7%, while Serbia has seen a decrease of as much as -2.2% of women in leadership positions from 2018 to 2022.
Among European countries, Austria records the highest increase with an increase of as much as 14.4% more women in leadership positions, followed by the Czech Republic with an increase of 9.1%.
You can view the entire infographic by Dun & Bradstreet here.
Better Numbers in Large Systems
The number of boards where men hold all leadership positions still greatly exceeds the number of boards with exclusively female leadership. 83% to 17% is the prevailing ratio of male to female leadership positions in Croatia in 2022.
– The past three years have somehow contributed to new ways of thinking. We are witnessing the growth of more flexible work models in line with the demands of younger generations, and the pandemic has also contributed to the growth of trust in that flexibility. In this context, new opportunities are opening up for women to take on leadership positions. We will continue to monitor the development of changes identified by the research – said Susan McKay, Chief Marketing Officer for the International Market at Dun & Bradstreet.
When it comes to company size, a tendency is emerging among large companies (> 250 employees) in Croatia towards diversity in management bodies: 36.4% of management in large companies consists exclusively of men.
This tendency is significantly lower in medium-sized companies (50 – 250 employees); 51.4% of management in medium-sized companies consists exclusively of men, and the lowest in small companies (<50 employees); 58.2% of management in small companies consists exclusively of men.
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Trends, ESG, and Financial Performance
The trends that were also examined in the research include:
- Are women more committed to issues related to environment, society, and governance (ESG)?
- Are there branches of industry that are ‘typically female’?
- How do companies led by women fare in employee relations?
- Financial success over the past five years
69.6% of companies in Croatia with a share of women in leadership greater than 50% have impeccable corporate governance.
This includes criteria such as board accountability, shareholder rights, business transparency, corporate compliance, and business resilience and stability.
46.9% of companies with a share of women in management greater than 50% have above-average ESG results. This trend is not limited to Croatia but is evident to almost the same extent in all surveyed countries.
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When it comes to industries, one trend stands out. In almost all surveyed countries, in one or more industries that are stereotypically considered female, women are indeed predominantly represented in leadership positions: education services, social services, healthcare services, food and beverage, and food retail. A comparison with the top five sectors predominantly led by men also shows that these sectors do not occupy one of the leading positions in any of the countries studied.
For financial success and the number of employees, which were examined for companies with predominantly female or male management bodies, no specific advantages for women or men were identified; they are more or less equal in terms of revenue development.
If we look at the number of employees, we see that companies with a majority of women in leadership positions have lost fewer employees in the past five years; on the other hand, companies led by men lead in the growth of the number of employees.
You can download the Dun & Bradstreet infographic ‘Women in Leadership Positions: Croatia’ here.
Methodology
In the report ‘Women in Leadership Positions’, we analyzed only companies for which leadership positions are displayed within our Data Cloud, and thus levels. For this reason, micro-enterprises were excluded from the analysis.
The dataset for Croatia includes 16,332 companies that meet the specified criteria. In further analyses, the percentage of women in leadership positions from 2018 to the end of 2022 was analyzed, as well as various aspects regarding whether the management bodies of companies are predominantly women (share 51 – 100%) or predominantly men (share 0 – 50%).
