International Women’s Day: Sweden named top European country for women to work in, UK lagging

Sweden has emerged as the top European country for women to work in, with the UK only making it to 12th place, according to research published ahead of International Women’s Day.

A variety of factors such as economic and leadership role opportunities were evaluated by brand and search optimisation specialist Reboot Online, creating a points-based index out of 300 to determine which European countries offer the best prospects for female professionals.

Sweden gained top billing with a score of 241.4 points, followed by Finland (227.6) and Norway (213.8). With a score of 165.5, the UK was placed 12th while Turkey was found to be the country with the fewest work opportunities in 2023, scoring 31 out of a possible 300. Slovenia, Romania and Lithuania are among the 15 European countries with the best opportunities for women in 2023, according to the study.

Reboot found that the UK has the highest number of women in leadership positions of all the European countries examined, taking into account wage equality for similar work and estimated income - equating to 317 “active duty leadership positions” in 2022. As a result, it gained 100 points in the women in leadership index. However, the firm said it was “disappointing” that the UK only has 11.6 paid full weeks of maternity leave which led to a score of just 6.9 for this category.

Naomi Aharony, chief executive and co-founder at Reboot, said: “The overall results have suggested that there is some progress in terms of gender equality in the workplace in Europe. Norway, Finland and Sweden ranked highly, indicating that there are some improvements being made. However, the disappointing positions of European countries such as Austria and the Czech Republic reaffirm that the progress towards gender parity remains slow in Europe. Although it is good to see some advancement, women still face numerous challenges when it comes to gender equality in the workplace that involves not only the wage gap, lack of leadership representation, government incentives and work-life balance.”

Meanwhile, figures highlighted by New Street Consulting Group suggest that a quarter of women have changed jobs because there were no relatable role models to look up to. The firm noted that only about 9 per cent of chief executives in the Fortune 500 - a total of 46 - are women. Last year saw the gap between women and men in senior roles quitting their jobs become the largest it has ever been, it added. New Street’s own research shows that over the last decade, just 17 per cent of Forbes’ magazine covers featured female entrepreneurs, averaging less than three covers a year that included women. The firm warned that “unconscious discrimination” continues to impact women at all levels.

The research comes ahead of International Women’s Day on Wednesday March 8, an annual event that focuses attention on issues such as gender equality, reproductive rights and violence and abuse against women. A group of leading female business figures will gather to discuss the Stewart Report to mark International Women’s Day. The report’s chair and co-author Ana Stewart will be joined by Professor Eleanor Shaw, Carolyn Jameson, Sarah Ronald and Vanessa Collingridge to cover some of the main topics from Stewart’s “Pathways: A New Approach for Women in Entrepreneurship” review via a livestream panel on the day itself.

Stewart is an investment partner with Eos, who previously founded and exited fintech business i-design. She is also a non-executive director at the Scottish FA and Bella & Duke, the pet food subscription company.

Ana Stewart, partner at Eos and chair of Women in Enterprise Review. Picture: Stewart Attwood

Stewart said: “Eleanor, Carolyn and Sarah were three of the many individuals we engaged with during the discovery phase of the review, and each brings a valuable perspective to the narrative around barriers to female entrepreneurship. We have been overwhelmed by the widespread support since the publication of the report and it’s important that we keep the momentum going to ensure the Scottish Government embraces the recommendations.”

The Scottish Government-commissioned Pathways: A New Approach to Women in Entrepreneurship, co-authored by Scotland’s chief entrepreneur Mark Logan, was published on February 20. Next week’s event is being supported by Startup Grind Scotland, Product Forge, Trustpilot and the Freer Consultancy.

Professor Shaw is an associate principal at the University of Strathclyde with responsibility for the institution’s entrepreneurship strategy, and holds board positions with the Chartered Association of Business Schools, the Small Business Charter and the ScaleUp institute. She said: “Following the report’s publication, there is a sense of anticipation that something positive might happen. The possibility that the dial might shift through cross-sector collaboration and joined up thinking to create a truly inclusive ecosystem that embraces equity and female founders, indeed all under-represented founders, is an exciting and real possibility. What it now needs is for the Scottish Government to support the report’s recommendations in the same positive manner as it responded to the Scottish Technology Ecosystem Review in 2020.”

Carolyn Jameson, chief trust officer, Trustpilot, who also sits on the board of the Scottish National Investment Bank, is an investment committee member with venture capital firm SEP, and is a fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Sarah Ronald is the founder of strategic design firm Nile, an active angel investor, a Scottish Technology Ecosystem Advisory Board member, and holds a number of board positions including with eco start-up Pawprint. Vanessa Collingridge, who is hosting the panel on the day, is a former BBC presenter and an associate at Freer Consultancy.