In a study of 13 European countries, Poland ranks as one of the top in terms of number of women in directorial and managerial positions, daily Puls Biznesu reports.

In fact, one out of every three directorial positions in Poland is occupied by a woman, a report by market research firm Grant Thornton shows. However, only four percent of CEO positions belong to women in Poland, compared to almost 13 percent in Germany and 10 percent in France and Sweden.

Sociologist Lena Kolarska- Bobińska told the newspaper that Polish society as a whole finds it difficult to recognize women’s leadership qualities.

But the problem may also be in women’s own approach to their career goals, she said. Studies show that one in five men aspire to attain a top position, while only one in seventeen women do; career path analysis generally show that people attain those positions to which they aspire.

Therefore, the problem isn’t merely sociological, but deeply psychological as well, she said.

However, Ms Bobinska said, it’s a never ending cycle: women don’t aspire towards greater things because they know that their chance at success is not very high when compared to men.

Poland AM