Dhe Deutsche Telekom, Airbus and Allianz stand out among the most important listed groups in Germany. Because as of September 1st, there were three women on their executive board teams. This should also be the case at Daimler from December. For the first time, the big names in business were those with more than two female members at the highest management level.
The board members of the 160 listed companies from the German leading index Dax, MDax and SDax counted a total of 93 women. You will meet 603 men. This is shown by the new report from the non-profit Allbright Foundation, which has set itself the task of comparing and promoting the proportion of women in the highest corporate bodies.
This year it measures a historic plus on the reporting date: 25 more women are represented on the committees than twelve months ago. The proportion of women now averages 13.4 percent.
If the pace continues, the report emphasizes, gender parity on the executive boards would be achieved in eleven years – that is, in 2032. But there are considerable doubts that the Federal Republic is actually making so fast progress when it comes to diversity.
“Alibi effect” by the female board member
“We fear that many will take the first step and then relax on it,” says Allbright Managing Director Wiebke Ankersen. Around half of the 160 companies still do not have a single female board member.
And the other half, who can present themselves as more progressive, are threatened with an “alibi effect”, warns Ankersen. Because 68 of these 79 companies have only one female board member. “Having exactly one woman on the executive board is establishing itself as the new norm,” she says. “There is a great danger that the companies will only want to satisfy public expectations and not be committed to ensuring parity on the executive boards.”
Source: WORLD infographic
Even at the Dax40 companies, which have a total of 17.4 percent women, there are still those who do not have a woman on the top board: Delivery Hero, Deutsche Wohnen, Linde, MTU Aero Engines, Brenntag, HelloFresh, Porsche Automobil Holding , Sartorius and Symrise.
Two of them even state the so-called “target size zero” – so they are planning to continue without women on the board: namely Delivery Hero and Hello Fresh.
Source: WORLD infographic
Compared to other countries, Germany scores only moderately. Here the Allbright Foundation is still referring to the Dax30 composition, which is valid until September, with a proportion of women on the executive boards of 18.2 percent.
In the USA, for example, the share in the 30 largest listed companies averages 31.1 percent. Great Britain and Sweden also do significantly better with around 27 percent each.
High proportion of women working part-time
Of course, this is also a question of willingness, as critics point out. The rise to the top ranks takes a lot of time – and women are more likely to shy away from that. The proportion of women working part-time is high in this country.
Allbright managing director Ankersen sees several points in which the Federal Republic does poorly. She draws a comparison with Sweden: Individual taxation was introduced here 50 years ago. This means that a person’s income is taxed individually rather than together with that of the spouse.
In addition, kindergartens and all-day schools were established at an early stage. “That helps the economy, because women have much better opportunities to work and make a career than in Germany,” says Ankersen.
She calls on the future federal government to abolish the splitting of spouses and to push ahead with the expansion of the daycare center. “It is a scandal that families in many regions of Germany still have to fight for daycare places,” she says.
On the other hand, she doesn’t think much of a women’s quota, as established by the grand coalition for certain listed and codetermine companies: “Companies have to change from the inside out.”
Although they would have to do significantly more to adequately promote women, she is observing progress: “It is no longer a question of whether we need women on boards at all. It’s about how more of them make it there. “
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