the increase of women s representation in middle management is an important factor in closing the gender gap for the top leadership positions as middle managers constitute the natural pool for senior management candidates in most countries particularly in view of the ageing trends in the civil service similarly the growing number of women in the professional category with more than half of professionals being women is consistent with higher educational attainment and also increases the talent supply for both management categories some countries such as ireland create specific initiatives to support talented women in middle management in their progress into senior management positions within the public sector european commission