Gender quota for companies: women’s proportion on supervisory boards doubled within ten years

There are more women than ever before on the supervisory boards and board members of large German companies. This is shown by a balance of the organization “Women in the Supervisory Board” (Fidar) ten years after the entry into force of the first leadership position Act on May 1, 2015, with which politics prescribed a fixed quota for supervisory boards in certain companies.

According to this, the proportion of women in the supervisory boards of the private sector on April 1 was 37.5 percent – and thus almost twice as high as ten years ago (19.9 percent). According to the information, 38.9 percent were achieved in public companies, and in 2015 it was 24.1 percent.

In board members of stock exchange companies, the proportion of women in the period from 5 to 20.2 percent has also quadrilated and more than doubled to 31 percent in public companies (2015: 13.1 percent).

Fidar’s “Woman on Board Index” has been launched since 2011 and comprises 160 corporations from the Börsen indices DAX, MDAX and SDAX as well as 19 other listed and equal companies. In the “public women-on-board index”, the organization examines 261 public companies. The evaluation was available in advance for the German Press Agency.

Federal Minister of Women Paus: “Legal odds work”

The management position law has its full effect, the executive Federal Minister of Women Lisa Paus (Greens) is cited in a message on the ten -year balance sheet. “During this time we made it together that the proportion of women in top bodies of the German economy has increased noticeably.” The target size of 30 percent in the supervisory boards of around 100 large German companies has now been reached.

Fidar: Change only with political pressure

The aim of the first management position law is to significantly increase the proportion of women in management positions in both private and public sector. Since January 1, 2016, a quota of 30 percent women has applied for the re -filling of supervisory boards of listed and equally co -determined companies. In addition, the obligation to determine target variables for the proportion of women in management.

With the second management position law, further regulations were added: Since summer 2022, at least one woman has had to be represented by large companies with board members – who have more than three members. The regulations for the target sizes were also tightened.

“Without legal pressure, there was no progress beforehand,” criticized Fidar President Anja Seng. The quota works not only on supervisory boards, but also on board members. “Only if this pressure is maintained can we achieve an equal line -up of the management bodies in the medium term.”

Organization wants quote for more companies

However, only 100 companies are currently listed and equally determined and are subject to the Supervisory Board quota. The minimum involvement on the board only applies to 61 companies in the private sector and 43 federal investments.

The Fidar President pleads to expand the solid gender quotas: “We should expand this effective lever to those companies that are listed or have more than 500 employees. Regardless of the tightening of the law, women should be normal in management positions.”