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According to global and domestic data, the 40 percent ratio of female leaders is still far off. What do the TOP 100 Hungarian companies show, and what might the quota deadline bring?
This article is timely for several reasons, whether we look at global changes, quotas, or new regulations. For public-interest entities with over 250 employees and a net turnover exceeding 50 million euros (19 billion HUF), the proportion of the underrepresented gender (typically women) in the boardroom must reach at least 40 percent by June 30, 2026. Since one year of the preparation period has already passed, we found it interesting to examine where Hungarian companies currently stand on this issue.
But before we turn to this data, let’s see where the world stands globally regarding the ratio of female leaders, whether in the corporate, political, or academic spheres.
Global Outlook
The global representation of women in leadership continues to stagnate at a low level in key sectors, despite continuous progress being observed. In the corporate sphere, women account for an average of 34% of senior management positions, while in boards of directors, this ratio hovers between 20-30% for the largest companies.
According to the 2025 IPU–UN Women “Women in Politics” map, men are present in executive and legislative positions in more than triple the numbers of women. Only 25 countries have a female head of state. Europe continues to have the most countries led by women (12).
Although 2024 brought historic breakthroughs—such as the first directly elected female presidents in Mexico, Namibia, and North Macedonia—106 countries in the world have still never had a female leader.
The situation is not much better in academia. While women now outnumber men among university students in many countries, their proportion in leadership positions at higher education institutions is globally under 30% (this figure is particularly low in India and Saudi Arabia).
Sparks of Change
Although we are moving with small steps regarding global change, massive milestones have been achieved in a few countries over the past few years.
The most recent of these is linked to Japan. In October 2025, Japan elected its first female Prime Minister, Sanae Takaichi, which was a historic step in the Asian country’s conservative political arena.
The country has had a target for the proportion of female parliamentary representatives since 2020 (35% by 2025), and with Takaichi’s election, further similar quotas and an acceleration of changes are expected in Japan. Related topics include support for gender equality, the development and expansion of the childcare support system, and increasing women’s labor market participation.
Takaichi will certainly have her hands full, as Japan does not stand very well regarding the ratio of female leaders either. In the corporate sphere, the ratio of female leaders is 18.4% (2-3% in the case of CEOs). Although a record number of women were elected in the 2025 Upper House elections (20%), the vast majority of decision-makers are still men.
Overall, Japan is currently among the global laggards on the WEF Gender Gap list, at 125th place. We trust that with Takaichi’s contribution, changes will accelerate, and this ranking will improve.
The Hungarian Reality
As mentioned at the beginning of the article, we examined domestic companies with great interest to see where they stand half a year before the quota regulation kicks in. We analyzed the public data of the 100 Hungarian companies with the highest revenue to find out if there is room for women in the leadership of these corporate giants. Is there an industry that is more open to female leaders? Is there perhaps a company where women are not the underrepresented gender?
In our data collection, we researched the list of members of the top governing bodies and Supervisory Boards, and we examined how many of the TOP 100 companies have a woman sitting in the CEO’s chair.
17%
On the list of 100, we found 17 companies where the proportion of women in the top governing body reached or exceeded 40%. The majority of these companies—perhaps unsurprisingly—operate in the retail or wholesale industries, or deal with energy or car trading.
However, a number even more telling than this is that at 58 companies, there are absolutely no women in top management. Not even if the board consists of 10 members.
And the ratio is not much better in the case of Supervisory Boards, averaging 20%.
Out of the 100 companies, publicly available data regarding Supervisory Board members was found for 56, and we found only 9 companies where the proportion of women reached 40%. At 20 companies, not a single female leader made it into either the Board of Directors or the Supervisory Board. This is most true for manufacturing, asset management, and construction companies.
Finally, we looked at the situation at the CEO level. In Japan, as noted, this ratio was 2-3% for listed companies. Without making a direct comparison—since our analysis does not include all public-interest companies—among the TOP 100 Hungarian companies by revenue, 8 have a female CEO. As an interesting note, not only companies in the commercial sector belong to this list of eight; there are also companies in automotive and auto parts manufacturing, toll collection, the food industry, and even construction.
Will AI Solve This Too?!
Since our days are defined by artificial intelligence and all the perceived or real risks/opportunities it holds, it is interesting to examine this topic from the perspective of AI. Will it have an impact on the ratio of female leaders? And if so, what direction of change will it bring?
The rise of AI is already exerting a dual effect on the situation of female leaders. While it accelerates labor market transformation, it hides significant risks for women. According to studies, female job roles (e.g., administration, office tasks) are threatened by AI automation at three times the rate of men’s (approx. 10% vs. 3-3.5%), which could weaken women’s opportunities for advancement toward leadership, especially at middle and lower levels.
Furthermore, gender bias embedded in AI systems (affecting 44% of systems) further worsens the chances of female candidates in recruitment and evaluation, where, with identical performance, women are judged to be less competent with AI assistance (a 9% disadvantage).
The inheritance of gender bias unfortunately stems from the fact that women are underrepresented in AI development as well. Yet, involving female leaders could result in more ethical, inclusive systems, reducing discrimination.
Therefore, AI will not be a miracle cure either, but rather an opportunity—just like regulations, wage transparency, or quotas—for the future generation to live and work in a more equal world.