On October 30, 2024, Women on Boards Albania held the “Leading on the Edge” Annual Conference, an event dedicated to showcasing women’s potential and advancing board-level gender diversity in Albania. During the conference, we presented an in-depth report on the current landscape for women in leadership roles, highlighted pressing policy gaps, and shared recommendations for change. Here, we’re sharing a closer look at these findings, providing data on Albania’s progress toward gender equity, and inviting you to be part of the solution through our upcoming BootCamp program.

Gender Diversity in Albania: Current Landscape

Albania has made notable progress in promoting gender equality, particularly in public sector roles. However, the country continues to lag behind EU standards when it comes to female representation on corporate boards and in private sector leadership positions.

Below are key statistics reflecting the state of gender diversity in Albania:

Representation in Public Institutions: Women hold approximately 30% of leadership roles within public institutions, meeting the legal quota established in Albania’s 2008 gender equality law. However, these quotas are inconsistently enforced, particularly in local government positions.

Private Sector and Corporate Boards: The representation of women on corporate boards in Albania remains significantly lower, as there are no mandatory quotas or enforceable targets for the private sector. This lack of binding legislation leads to fewer women in executive and board roles compared to EU nations with established gender diversity mandates.

Labor Force Participation: Women constitute around 46% of the Albanian labor force. However, they remain underrepresented in senior leadership roles, facing structural challenges that include limited family-supportive policies and insufficient flexible work arrangements.

Albania’s 50 largest revenue-generating companies

In an analysis of Albania’s 50 largest revenue-generating companies, we examined gender diversity within key leadership roles. Here’s a snapshot of our findings:

• Supervisory Boards: Out of 147 members on Supervisory Boards, only 25 are women, representing 17% of these roles.
• CEOs and Business Administration: Of the 73 administrators, 16 are women, constituting 22% of CEOs and senior administrators.
• Chair of the Board: Only 7 companies have a designated Chair of the Board, with 3 positions held by women.
• Non-Executive Directors (NEDs): Female representation in Non-Executive. Director positions remain similarly low, with a minimal presence across major corporations.

These statistics show a clear underrepresentation of women in Albania’s corporate leadership roles, emphasizing the need for targeted efforts to increase diversity on corporate boards and executive teams.

Challenges & Barriers to Women’s Advancement in Leadership

Despite ongoing efforts to promote gender equality, several structural, cultural, and economic factors continue to hinder the progress of women in Albania. Here are some of the primary obstacles identified in our report:

Cultural Norms and Gender Stereotypes

Traditional Gender Roles: Women in Albania are often expected to prioritize family responsibilities over career advancement, creating a barrier to their availability and aspirations for leadership roles.

Perception of Women’s Leadership: Cultural attitudes often undermine women’s leadership potential, with female leaders in high-level positions frequently facing skepticism or undervaluation of their capabilities.

Absence of Legal Quotas

Lack of Binding Quotas: While many EU countries have established mandatory legal quotas for women on corporate boards, Albania has no such regulation, reducing the urgency for companies to achieve gender-balanced leadership.

Voluntary Measures: While there are voluntary initiatives for gender diversity, these lack the necessary legal backing to drive significant change.

Weak Institutional Support

Limited Enforcement of Gender Equality Policies: Although Albania’s Law on Gender Equality in Society (2008) mandates a 30% gender quota in public institutions, enforcement is weak, especially in local government. Lack of enforcement and limited resources hinder the effectiveness of these policies.

Inadequate Monitoring Mechanisms: The absence of binding quotas for corporate boards means there are no systems in place to monitor progress or hold companies accountable for failing to promote women to leadership roles.

Economic and Structural Barriers

Sectoral Concentration: Many Albanian women work in lower-paying sectors, such as education, health, and retail, where opportunities for advancement into leadership roles in influential sectors are limited.

Small Corporate Sector: Albania’s corporate landscape is relatively small, with fewer large companies where board quotas might apply. Many businesses are family-owned or operate informally, where gender diversity is often overlooked.

Work-Life Balance and Family Responsibilities

Limited Work-Life Policies: Although Albania provides up to 6 months of maternity leave at 80% of the net salary (and an additional 6 months at 50%), work-life balance policies remain underdeveloped, placing a disproportionate family burden on women. This imbalance is consistent across all education levels.

Insufficient Childcare Infrastructure: Access to affordable childcare remains a significant barrier for many working mothers. Although local government initiatives promote childcare options, the current infrastructure is still inadequate to meet the needs of professional women aspiring to leadership roles.

Policy Recommendations

1. Introduce Legal Quotas: Albania should implement binding gender quotas for corporate boards, following successful EU models. Clear targets, timelines, and penalties for non-compliance are crucial to drive progress in gender diversity.
2. Strengthen Monitoring Mechanisms: Establish an independent board to track gender diversity compliance, enforce penalties, and ensure transparent, regular public reporting, similar to frameworks in France and Spain.
3. Enhance Mentorship and Networking: Support women’s career advancement through consistent leadership training, mentorship, and networking opportunities facilitated by civil society organizations.
4. Improve Work-Life Balance Policies: Adopt policies for affordable childcare, flexible working hours, and shared family responsibilities, drawing from successful models in countries like Slovenia.
5. Challenge Cultural Norms: Launch awareness campaigns to counter gender stereotypes and encourage women in leadership, with joint efforts from government and civil society.

Our Vision for Change and Your Role in It

At Women on Boards Albania, we believe in a multi-faceted approach to creating an equitable leadership landscape. Alongside policy advocacy, we focus on empowering individual women to advance their careers and become role models and ambassadors for gender diversity.

To that end, we are excited to invite you to join our upcoming BootCamp programs —  designed to help women advance in their pathway to leading roles, earning your seat in a boardroom and making a difference when a Board member. The BootCamps are organised in 3 levels and will equip participants with essential skills, confidence, and insights needed to break the glass ceiling and achieve board-level roles. By working out your pathway to the boardroom,  you become an Ambassador of Women On Boards!

Thank you for being part of our journey towards gender equality.

Warm regards,

Women on Boards Albania Team