State Audit Office: Women 57.5% of public sector but underrepresented at the top
Audit covering 2020–2024 shows women are the majority of public employees but hold far fewer leadership positions, with 39.2% in parliament and 15% in government.
The State Audit Office found that women make up 57.5 percent of employees in the public sector, yet their presence in top decision‑making positions remains markedly low.
In its 2024 review the Office reported that women held 39.2 percent of parliamentary seats, while in the Government they accounted for only 15 percent — three of the total 20 ministers.
The audit, which examined the period from 2020 to 2024, concluded that sufficiently effective policies and mechanisms to promote women into leadership and managerial posts have not been established.
At the Assembly level, the audit recorded that of 58 people appointed to leadership positions only 16 were women, and that since 1991 no woman has been elected as Speaker of the Assembly.
Concerns and recommendations
The State Audit Office also pointed to non‑transparent procedures in some appointments, a lack of concrete measures for gender equality and the negative effect of hate speech, particularly online. It recommended that institutions and political parties ensure equal access to leadership roles, adopt measurable policies, invest in developing women's leadership capacities and create a safer environment for women's participation in public and political life.
Officials and party leaders now face pressure to translate the audit's recommendations into concrete steps if the numerical majority of women in the public workforce is to be reflected at the top of political and administrative hierarchies.
Photo: press material from the event
