FidAR WoB Index: More women on German supervisory and management boards than ever / Legal pressure is working - but only applies to very few companies

Press Release

FidAR WoB Index: More women on German supervisory and management boards than ever / Legal pressure is working - but only applies to very few companies

• Federal Minister for Women Paus: "Statutory quotas are successful"
• FidAR founding president Schulz-Strelow: "Still great need for action on target figures"
• FidAR President Seng: "We should expand the scope of quotas based on the EU model"

Berlin, 22 July 2024: Nine years after the gender quota for supervisory boards came into force and two years after the introduction of the minimum participation requirement for management boards, the proportion of women on the executive boards of German listed companies has reached new highs. The proportion of women in the supervisory boards of the 180 companies currently listed on the DAX, MDAX and SDAX as well as the companies listed on the Regulated Market with parity codetermination has risen to 37.3 per cent (2023: 35.3 %). On the management boards, the figure is approaching the 20 per cent mark at 19.3 % (2023: 18.3 %). However, most companies are still a long way from achieving equal representation on their boards. These are the findings of the latest FidAR Women-on-Board Index as of May 2024, published today in Berlin.

Almost two years after the minimum participation requirement for management boards came into force, almost all of the 65 companies currently covered by the regulation fulfil the requirements. Only three of the 65 companies still need to take action: Koenig & Bauer, Südzucker and Wüstenrot & Württembergische do not yet have any women on their management boards. Since the beginning of 2023, 31 women have been appointed to the management boards of the companies affected by the law. By way of comparison: in spring 2015, before the FüPo regulation came into force, only 36 women were represented on the boards of the 180 listed companies, with women accounting for five per cent.

In June and July alone, six more women joined the Executive Board after the editorial deadline for the study: Limor Bermann was appointed to the Executive Board of Aroundtown as Chief Sustainability Officer, Grazia Vittadini as Chief Technology Officer at Deutsche Lufthansa, Stefanie Hirsch as Sustainability and Quality Officer at Drägerwerk, Nadia Jakobi as CFO at E.ON, Aurélie Dalbiez as Chief People Officer at Evotec and Nadine Despineux as Chief Sales Officer at Jungheinrich.

Minimum participation requirement is effective - number of companies with a target of zero women remains high

The proportion of women on management boards has increased overall, although growth rates have slowed significantly. The average proportion of women in the 180 listed companies has risen by 1 percentage point to 19.3 per cent since 2023 - since the minimum participation requirement came into force in 2022, the increase amounts to 4.6 percentage points. In the 104 companies subject to the supervisory board quota, the proportion of women on the management board is significantly higher at 21.7 per cent (+1.2 since 2023), while in the 76 companies not subject to the quota it has stagnated at 14.9 per cent (+0.2 since 2023). Furthermore, 65 (36.1 %) of the 180 companies analysed do not have a woman on their board (2023: 71). The number of companies with no women on their executive boards that have set a target of "zero" has barely fallen from 26 to 23.

Supervisory bodies set their sights on the 40 per cent mark

As with the Management Board, the proportion of women on the Supervisory Board is also increasing significantly more strongly in companies that have been subject to the fixed quota on the Supervisory Board since 2015. Since FüPoG II came into force, growth rates have also increased again. Overall, the average proportion of women on the supervisory boards of the 180 companies rose by 2 percentage points year-on-year to 37.3 per cent. The 104 companies currently subject to the supervisory board quota reached a new high of 38.5 per cent (2023: 37.3 %). The 76 companies not subject to the quota increased significantly by 4.2 percentage points to 33.5 per cent. 75 of the 180 companies surveyed have a proportion of women on the supervisory board of 40 per cent; of the 104 companies subject to the quota, this figure is just under half at 51.

Federal Minister for Women Lisa Paus: "The pressure of the management position laws is working"

"I welcome the fact that so many companies are appointing more women to supervisory boards and management boards. We have already made great strides in the equal participation of women in management positions. The legal requirements are successful. The fixed quota for supervisory boards and the minimum participation requirement for management boards are working. However, our long-term aim is to ensure that management positions are filled equally. To achieve this, companies in the private sector must continue to pick up the pace. Women make a significant contribution to the success of companies. That's why we need more women at all management levels," explains the German Federal Minister for Women Lisa Paus.

Little movement in the target figures

While the fixed quotas are effective, the development of targets for the strategic planning of the proportion of women is stagnating. All companies analysed that are not subject to the quota regulations are obliged to set and publish targets for the proportion of women on the supervisory board, executive board and the first and second management levels. There are still 23 companies with no women on the Management Board that have set a target of zero, i.e. are not planning to appoint women to the Management Board - the majority of these (17) are companies that are not subject to the supervisory board quota.

Monika Schulz-Strelow: "Those who plan with zero deny equal participation"

"Since the introduction of the sanctioned obligation to give reasons for target size zero, the number has halved from 46 to 23. Nevertheless, it is incomprehensible that so many companies continue to plan without women. Although the reasons given for this have become more detailed, they are still not convincing. In addition, the plans of companies not covered by the supervisory board quota are not very ambitious. There is still a lack of credible diversity concepts. An expansion of the binding regulations would be important in order to extend the successful effect of the fixed quotas to more than the 104 and 65 companies to date. Because it is still clear that voluntary commitments do not work in the German economy," says FidAR founding president Monika Schulz-Strelow, who has been in charge of the WoB Index since its first edition in 2011.

Anja Seng: "We need more binding rules for significantly more companies

"We will not achieve the goal of equal representation on management bodies at the current rate. The statutory quotas are successful, but they only apply to around 100 companies. The European Women on Boards Directive shows ways in which binding requirements can apply to a larger number of companies. If companies do not show more commitment, the legislator must act. Even in companies that are not yet subject to the gender quota on the supervisory board and the minimum participation requirement on the management board, women must become the norm in company management and supervisory bodies. Every company needs a binding and transparent strategy for equal participation at all management levels. We cannot afford to allow the German economy to fall even further behind in international comparison when it comes to equal participation. Our goal must be to achieve equal representation on all boards in the medium term – supervisory board, executive board and top management," emphasises FidAR President Prof. Dr Anja Seng.

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

Your contact persons

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

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

Press contact

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

About FidAR:

FidAR - Frauen in die Aufsichtsräte e. V. is a non-partisan and supra-regional initiative founded in 2006 by women in management 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 governance and culture. The aim of the initiative, which is supported by over 1,450 women and men, is to achieve equal representation in all management positions in the German economy. FidAR pursues these goals in close dialogue with business, politics, science and in cooperation with the relevant business and women's associations. More information about FidAR is available on the Internet at www.fidar.de.