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Sweden has one of the highest levels of gender equality in the world. Still, Swedish women are under-represented in top corporate jobs, new data suggests.

In the boards of fully owned or partly owned government companies in Sweden, 39 percent are women and 61 percent are men, according to Statistics Sweden.

Looking at all the limited companies in Sweden, 12 percent of the chairpersons of the board are women and 88 percent are men.

European Commission figures showed last week that more women gained a seat on company boards in the European Union last year with their share climbing to 15.8 percent in October. The OECD’s Gender Browser said last year that women occupied only one in ten board seats in listed companies in OECD countries in 2009, the most recent year for which comparable data are available.

Of all women who are on boards of Swedish limited companies, 61 percent are deputy members. The corresponding figure for men is 21 percent.

Sweden has the highest proportion of working women in the world, and women earn about two-thirds of all degrees.

Nordic countries dominate the World Economic Forum gender equality rankings.