Ljubljana - Gender diversity in leadership positions in state-owned and publicly traded companies has improved in 2022 over last year, the Slovenian Directors' Association said on Wednesday. Last year, 23% of state-owned and listed companies met the 40/33/2026 objectives and by this year the share has increased to 34%.

The 40/33/2026 initiative encourages the 56 state-owned and publicly traded companies in Slovenia to reach by 2026 two goals: 40% representation of the less represented sex in the supervisory board and 33% representation in supervisory and management boards.

"The changes in trends in representation of women, the more poorly represented sex in management and supervisory bodies, were quite abysmal between 2019 and 2020. Only last year has shown a change, above all in the share of women in management bodies," the Directors' Association said in a press release.

A 7.1 percentage point increase in representation of women was detected in management bodies, while the change in representation in supervisory bodies was at a low 1.7 points, said the association, which measures representation in cooperation with Deloitte Slovenija.

Meanwhile, 13% of the companies included have no gender diversity at all. 11% have no women in top positions, while 2% have no men in top positions.

The companies that meet the initiative goals include the lottery operator Loterija Slovenije, the bank NLB, logistics company Intereuropa and postal services operator Pošta Slovenije.

Those who do not meet the goals include telco Telekom Slovenije and power group HSE, as well as power companies Elektro Gorenjska and Gen Energija, reinsurer Sava Re and investment bank SID Banka.