More than one million people hold executive positions

In 2007, more than one million persons managed a group of at least five people, i.e. 14 percent of the employed labour force. The percentage of managers is relatively high in the categories men, older people and full-timers.

More male than female managers

The majority of managers in the Netherlands are men. In the employed labour force, 280 thousand women (nearly one in ten) held executive positions as opposed to 768 thousand men (nearly one in five). These ratios have hardly changed since 2001. Female executives are less common than their male counterparts, irrespective of the amount of employees they manage.

Managers by gender, 2007

Male managers are more frequent than female managers across all age groups. This pattern becomes more evident from the age of thirty. The proportion of female managers aged thirty years and older remains stuck at approximately 10 percent, whereas the proportion of older male managers grows from about 13 percents in the 25-29 age group to nearly 25  percent among 50 to 54-year-olds.

Managers by gender and age, 2007

Most managers work full-time

The number of working hours plays an important role in obtaining a managerial position. Women relatively often work in part-time jobs and part-time executive positions are scarce. If working hours are taken into account, the gender gap narrows. Among people working four days, the difference between both genders is fairly irrelevant. In full-time jobs, female managers are, however, considerably rarer than male managers.

Managers by gender and working hours, 2007

Astrid Visschers and Saskia te Riele