The European Central Bank has extended a deadline for filling three top jobs at its bank supervision arm after it failed to hire any women for the roles. 

The bank has been struggling for long to attract female talent for senior positions. Currently, the bank has only one woman on its 25-member Governing Council and a few women on the Supervisory Board. 

For long, the bank has been criticized by the European lawmakers for fostering a culture that favors men, with males holding over three quarters of senior managerial positions. The criticism has risen after the top two bank supervisors, Daniele Nouy and Sabine Lautenschlaeger, were replaced by men. The situation further aggravated the company’s aim to improve gender balance and equality.

While the ECB is under no legal obligation to find women for the jobs, selecting male candidates will put them in a politically untenable position.

According to reports, deally there should be at least two women filling the six internal Supervisory Board seat to diffuse political tension over gender inequality.

A conflict over gender also risks slowing the Parliamentary approval of ECB board members, a potential headache as ECB President Mario Draghi and board member Benoit Coeure are both due to leave the bank in the coming months.