Women in managerial positions, 2002

Only one in ten executive managers are women

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Only 10 per cent of executive managers in companies with more than 10 employees are women. This figure increases to 19 per cent when managers of small enterprises are included.

Written by: Inger Håland / Kristin Glad

Proportion of women who manage large and small enterprises. Per cent, 2002

Proportion of women who manage large enterprises with more than 10 employees. Per cent, 2002

Only 10 per cent of directors and chief executives of large enterprises in Norway are women. From a total of 22 000, 20 000 executive management positions are held by men, according to figures from the LFS conducted in 2002. If we also include the general managers of small enterprises, i.e. those with less than ten employees, the proportion of women increases to 19 per cent, which is equivalent to 10 000. Most general managers of small enterprises are in the wholesale and retail trade, where the proportion of women is also highest.

The term “manager” in this context is defined in accordance with the Standard Classification of Occupations (STYRK). In order to be classified as a manager, a person must undertake a wide range of managerial tasks and spend at least half of their working hours on administrative tasks. In practice, this means that to a large extent it is the formal management that is measured in LFS.

Middle managers as a whole and broken down by industry. Absolute figures and per cent, 2002
 
     In total     Men     Women     In total     Men     Women
 
  Absolute figures Per cent
Middle managers as a whole  118 000      80 000 38 000  100 68 32
Middle managers in manufacturing 12 000 11 000 1 000  100 92 8
Middle managers in wholesale and retail trade, hotels and restaurants 13 000 8 000 5 000  100 62 38
Middle managers in financial services 10 000 7 000 2 000  100 75 25
Middle managers in public administration 13 000 8 000 5 000  100 65 35
Middle managers in education, health care and social services 16 000 6 000 10 000  100 38 62
Chief executives and HR managers 19 000 10 000 9 000  100 54 46
Sales managers 6 000 6 000 1 000  100 86 14
Purchasing managers 5 000 5 000 0  100 95 5
Other 23 000 19 000 5 000  100 82 22
 
 
 

Three in ten middle managers are women

In contrast to small enterprises, which only have one general manager, large enterprises have a hierarchy of managers. Directors and chief executives normally have production and operations department managers and directors or managers for other departments such as personnel and sales below them. Women manifest themselves much more frequently among the middle managers than the executive managers. Out of a total of 118 000 middle managers, 38 000 are women, which equates to 32 per cent. With regard to production and operations department managers, it is particularly within the “softer” fields that we find high proportions of women. The majority of middle managers within teaching, health and social services are women, at 62 per cent. The proportion of women within the wholesale and retail trade, and public administration is 38 per cent and 35 per cent respectively. Manufacturing and business services are, on the other hand, male dominated. The men hold 90 per cent of middle manager positions in manufacturing and 75 per cent of the positions in financial services. The trend of women within “softer” fields also applies to managers of other departments. Almost half of the administration and personnel department managers are women, whilst those heading the supply and sales departments are mostly men. The proportions of men here are 95 per cent and 86 per cent respectively. With regard to the proportion of women for all types of managers, i.e. the most senior managers in the small and large enterprises and the middle managers in the large enterprises, the figure increases to 28 per cent.

 

Female managers work more than men

Womens work patterns in managerial positions are more similar to mens work patterns than to other womens work patterns. Whilst 46 per cent of all employed women work part-time, this only applies to 11 per cent of female managers. Since so few female managers work part-time, the difference in agreed working hours is also much smaller between women and men in managerial positions than between women and men in general. Whilst female managers are contracted to work 37 hours a week, i.e. around three hours less than male managers, all women in employment have seven agreed working hours less than the male average. With regard to actual hours worked, women in managerial positions work less than one hour more than the agreed hours, whilst men in these positions work over one hour more than the agreed hours. As a whole, women work an average of around 25 minutes less than the agreed hours and men around 30 minutes more.



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