“Gender Equality in Top Management: The Need for Quotas in Latvia and EU Companies”

52% of Latvian women and 51% of respondents aged 18 to 25 are convinced of the need for quotas, by determining that at least 40% of top management positions should be occupied by women, while men (76%) and the population over 50 have a strongly negative attitude age (67%). A significant difference in opinions can also be observed when assessing the current situation in state and municipal capital companies – while 52% of men are convinced that there is already an equal proportion of women and men in the top management positions of capital companies, only 27% of women think so. In Lithuania, society as a whole is more supportive of the introduction of quotas than in Latvia, while in Estonia it is more skeptical.

“Although the EU directive directly applies only to individual Latvian companies, the practice of gender equality should be implemented on a much wider scale. According to “Lursoft” data, both genders are not equally represented in the management of Latvia’s 500 largest companies, and only about 25% of management positions are women. The state and corporations could be a positive example in promoting gender equality and diversity. Quotas have already been introduced in several European countries, such as France, the Netherlands and Belgium, and international studies show, that companies with more women in leadership positions show better financial results. As a result, both the national economy and the entire society benefit. Determining quotas is also one of the solutions for reducing the pay gap between the sexes,” says Baiba Rubesa, co-founder of the “Novatore” organization.