FidAR – Frauen in die Aufsichtsräte e. V.: FidAR WoB-Index: New highs for women on supervisory and executive boards in Germany / Minimum participation requirement effective - scope of quotas too small

FidAR WoB-Index: New highs for women on supervisory and executive boards in Germany / Minimum participation requirement effective - scope of quotas too small

• Federal Minister for Women's Affairs Lisa Paus: "Companies are committed to implementing statutory quotas".
• FidAR founding president Schulz-Strelow: "You don't win women with a target of zero".
• FidAR President Seng: "Scope of quotas should be expanded quickly".

Berlin, 09.07.2023: Never before have there been so many women on the boards of German stock exchange companies. The proportion of women on the supervisory boards of the 180 companies currently listed on the DAX, MDAX and SDAX as well as those listed on the Regulated Market with equal co-determination has risen to 35.3 per cent (2022: 33.5 %). The proportion of women on the management boards reached a new peak of 18.3 per cent (2022: 14.7 %). This is the result of FidAR's current Women-on-Board-Index as of May 2023, which is published today in Berlin.

The driver of this development is the minimum participation requirement for women on executive boards introduced with the Second Executive Positions Act (FüPoG II). Since the beginning of 2023 alone, another 15 women have been appointed to the executive boards of the 62 companies currently affected. This means that almost all of these companies, which must have at least one woman on the board according to the regulation, have reached the required quorum. Only four of the 62 corporations that fall under the minimum participation requirement still need to take action: Indus Holding, Koenig & Bauer, Vitesco Technologies Group and Wüstenrot & Württembergische. Vitesco has already announced the appointment of Sabine Nitzsche as CFO as of 1 November 2023.

Proportion of women on boards continues to increase strongly

The positive development among board members extends beyond the companies affected by the minimum participation requirement. The overall average share of women has risen by 3.6 percentage points since the previous year to 18.3 per cent. At the 101 companies subject to the supervisory board quota, the proportion is significantly higher at 20.5 per cent (+4.3 since 2022), while at the 79 companies not subject to the quota it is only 14.7 per cent (+2.2 since 2022). Furthermore, 71 and thus almost 40 percent of the 180 companies surveyed still have no women on the board (2022: 93). The number of companies with a female-free boardroom that have set a target of "zero" fell from 44 to 26 compared to the previous year.

Movement in the supervisory boards

After the recent stagnation in the proportion of women on supervisory boards, the FüPoG II has also brought about a slight improvement here. Overall, the average proportion of women on the supervisory boards of the 180 companies rose by 1.8 percentage points to 35.3 per cent compared to the previous year. Among the 101 companies currently subject to the supervisory board quota, a new high of 37.3 per cent (2022: 35.6 %) was reached. The 79 companies not subject to the quota, on the other hand, remain just below the 30 per cent mark with an average of 29.3 per cent (+2 since 2022).

Federal Minister for Women's Affairs Lisa Paus: "The Second Leadership Positions Act is a success".

"We are on the right track. The legal requirements are successful, the fixed quotas for supervisory boards and management boards are effective. However, in order to achieve equal participation of women in executive positions, we have to look at the entire management. With their high qualifications and strong performance, women contribute significantly to the success of companies. This must also be reflected in all management levels. It is a good sign that the minimum participation requirement for women on executive boards was implemented so quickly, and I am pleased that many companies have more women on supervisory boards than is required by law," says Federal Minister for Women's Affairs Lisa Paus.

Monika Schulz-Strelow: "Pressure is growing on companies with a target of zero for the board of directors".

"The success of the minimum participation requirement shows that the massive criticism of the quota for executive boards was groundless and exaggerated. The same was already true with the supervisory board quota. Fixed quotas are necessary because voluntary commitments do not work. This is also evident in the case of companies planning with a target of zero for the executive board: only since the FüPoG II introduced a justification obligation with sanctions for a target of zero, have the numbers declined noticeably. However, 26 companies with a women-free boardroom and a target of zero for the board are still 26 too many. Companies need credible gender equality strategies and more women at all management levels, also in order to be perceived as a potential employer of young women," says FidAR founding president Monika Schulz-Strelow, who has been in charge of the WoB Index since its first edition in 2011.

Anja Seng: "Expansion of gender quotas could achieve much more".

"The joy over the success of the legal quotas is clearly clouded by their limited reach. Only 101 companies currently fall under the gender quota for the supervisory boards, only 62 under the minimum participation requirement for executive boards. We should extend this effective lever to all co-determined or listed companies. Because even in companies that are not yet covered by the regulations, women in corporate management must become the norm. We cannot afford for the German economy to fall even further behind in terms of equal participation in international comparison. Our goal must be to have equal representation on all boards in the medium term - supervisory board, executive board and top management," emphasises FidAR President Prof. Dr. Anja Seng. "With a view to the EU Directive for Women on Company Boards, an initial expansion would be possible and necessary. If the EU regulation were implemented in Germany, all listed companies with 250 or more employees would be obliged to achieve at least 40 per cent women or men on the supervisory board by 2026."

The WoB-Index is funded by the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth. The detailed study on the Women-on-Board-Index 185 by FidAR can be found at www.wob-index.de.

Your contact persons

Prof. Dr. Anja Seng, President FidAR - Frauen in die Aufsichtsräte e. V., Berlin
Tel.: +49 (1 51) 12 54 64 60, e-mail: anja.seng@fidar.de 

Monika Schulz-Strelow, Founding President FidAR - Frauen in die Aufsichtsräte e. V., Berlin
Tel.: +49 (30) 887 14 47 13, e-mail: monika.schulz-strelow@fidar.de 

Press contact

Matthias Struwe | Eye Communications | Press and Public Relations Agency
Tel: +49 (7 61) 137 62-21, e-mail: m.struwe@eyecommunications.de

About FidAR:

FidAR - Frauen in die Aufsichtsräte e. V. (Women on Supervisory Boards) is a non-partisan and supra-regional initiative launched in 2006 by women in leadership positions in business, science and politics. FidAR aims to achieve a sustainable increase in the proportion of women on the supervisory boards of German companies and to improve corporate control and culture. The goal of the initiative, supported by over 1,300 women and men, is equal representation in all management positions in the German economy. FidAR pursues these goals in close exchange with business, politics, science and in cooperation with the relevant business and women's associations. More information on FidAR is available at www.fidar.de.