Since 1996 a similar 30 per cent quota has existed for civil service positions. As the number of women in civil service positions grew, the government also set a 30 per cent quota for men in 2003 to combat fears that men were getting ‘left behind’. Despite this, only 4.5 per cent of high-level government positions are occupied by women, although this number should grow as women in entry-level positions climb the ranks. As The New York Times reported in 2010, ‘47 per cent of those who passed the state examination that selects midlevel officials to be groomed for senior posts in agencies other than the Foreign Ministry were women. In 1992 it was 3.2 per cent’.