The nearly 29 percent that women make up of the total number of employees of Estonia’s police is more than in most other countries in Europe

In Sweden, for instance, women make up 18 percent of the total number of police staffers, and the number is even smaller in other countries, said Elmar Nurmela, police director of the personnel department of the Estonian Police Board. Women should have no reason to complain about shortage of career opportunities in Estonia’s police force either, as 26 women were employed in senior offices as of the end of May this year, including 22 as superintendents, two as chief superintendents, and one as police deputy director and police director each. There are 902 women employed as senior staff and just 100 as junior staff, which means that men make up as much as 84.2 percent of the police staffers of the lowest career grade. Estonia had a woman as regional police chief until April 1 this year, when Ester Kallakas resigned as police chief of the Viljandi county, Nurmela added.