Women in senior management (i33)
- 31/10/2025
- objective
- assessment
In 2024, there were 37% of women in senior management in the largest listed companies. To achieve the sustainable development goal by 2030, this figure must increase to 50%. This objective will not be reached by continuing the trend since 2003 (data available in November 2025). The proportion of women in senior management in the largest listed companies is therefore developing favourably.
Women in senior management - Belgium - trend assessment
percentage
| 2000 | 2003 | 2005 | 2010 | 2015 | 2020 | 2024 | 2025 | 2030 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| observations | -- | -- | -- | -- | 26.0 | 37.2 | 37.0 | -- | -- |
| trend and extrapolation (November 2025) | -- | -- | -- | -- | 24.2 | 36.4 | 38.3 | 38.4 | 38.9 |
| objective 2030 | 50.0 | 50.0 | 50.0 | 50.0 | 50.0 | 50.0 | 50.0 | 50.0 | 50.0 |
Source: EIGE; Eurostat (2025), Positions held by women in senior management positions, sdg_05_60, https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat, last update of data 15/05/2025 23:00 (consulted on 17/09/2025)
Women in senior management - Belgium and international comparison
percentage
| 2012 | 2015 | 2019 | 2020 | 2024 | 2024//2012 | 2024//2019 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belgium | 12.9 | 26.0 | 35.8 | 37.2 | 37.0 | 9.2 | 0.7 |
| EU27 | 14.7 | 20.4 | 26.7 | 27.7 | 32.6 | 6.9 | 4.1 |
| //: Average Growth Rates | |||||||
Source: EIGE; Eurostat (2025), Positions held by women in senior management positions, sdg_05_60, https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat, last update of data 15/05/2025 23:00 (consulted on 17/09/2025).
Definition: the indicator measures the proportion of women in senior management in the largest companies listed on the stock exchange. Listed means that the company's shares are traded on the stock exchange. The members in senior management are all the members of the highest decision-making body of each company (namely the chairman, non-executive directors, senior managers and employee representatives, if any). The data comes from Eurostat on the basis of the gender statistics database of the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE).
Goal: the proportion of women in senior management in the largest listed companies must increase to 50%.
The Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs adopted by the UN in 2015 include target 5.5: "Ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic, and public life".
The Federal Long-Term Strategic Vision for Sustainable Development includes objective 1: "Women and men will enjoy their rights equally. They will be able to contribute to all aspects of the development of society and to the improvement of living conditions without distinction, exclusion or restriction on the grounds of sex” (Belgian Official Gazette, 08/10/2013).
In Belgium, legislation has been in force since 28 July 2011 requiring at least one-third of the members of the board of directors to be of the opposite sex to the other members (Belgian Official Gazette, 2011). The European Parliament formally adopted the new EU directive on gender balance on boards of directors in 2022. By 2026, companies should have 40% of the under-represented gender among non-executive directors or 33% among all directors (Directive (EU) 2022/2381).
UN indicator: the selected indicator corresponds to indicator 5.5.2 - Proportion of women in managerial positions.
Sources
-
Belgian Official Gazette: http://www.ejustice.just.fgov.be/cgi/welcome.pl; research on http://www.ejustice.just.fgov.be/doc/rech_f.htm.
- Official Journal of the European Union: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/oj/direct-access.html?locale=nen.
At www.indicators.be the Federal Planning Bureau presents sustainable development indicators.
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