In several countries, more than three-fourths of all employees hold university degrees. In 1998, more than 80,000 employees took part in some form of training. The average Ericsson employee attends training courses two weeks every year. An even greater part of competence development, however, is conducted in actual operations, in projects designed to develop and implement new products and systems. Management accounts for about 12 percent of all employees.
Women are still under-represented in management.
Developing female management candidates, therefore, is a priority. The percentage of women in management is now increasing at about 0.5-1.0 percent annually. Today, women account for more than one of seven managers. Five companies have female presidents, three who were appointed this year.