Imbalances in Management Positions - Many companies give no women quota goal despite duty
Despite a legal obligation, only about two-thirds of more than 2000 German companies published a target for the Female Quota in their Boards in the last business year. This information comes from a report of the Federal Government on the Female Quota in Leading Positions, which was passed by the Federal Cabinet. The report includes an evaluation of 2109 companies from the private sector, the federal civil service, and companies with direct majority ownership by the Federal Government.
According to the report, only 62.1% of these companies published a target for the Female Quota in their Boards in the last business year - despite all of them having been subject to this legal obligation since 2015. More than half of them (53%) set themselves the target of zero women - that is, the goal of having no women in the respective company Board. This is still allowed.
However, Federal Family Minister Lisa Paus (Greens) explained in an interview with dpa why not all companies comply with the disclosure requirement. She demanded more consistency in the enforcement of legal provisions. "It's clear: Such violations are punishable. They carry penalties," Paus told dpa. The Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (Bafin) and the Federal Office of Justice are responsible for enforcing these regulations. Paus stressed in talks with both institutions that she wants to make regulatory violations "more visible in the future and effectively enforce sanctions."
The report shows that the proportion of female members on the Boards of the mentioned companies has been continuously increasing since 2015. However, only data for the year 2021 and, in some cases, for the year 2022 are available in the report.
In the private sector, the proportion of female supervisory board members of all companies increased from 2015 to 2021 by more than seven percentage points to 26%. In the 104 companies that fall under a fixed quota for the appointment of supervisory board members, there was an increase of more than ten percentage points during the same period. Here, the proportion of women in 2021 was 35.7%, which is above the statutory quota of 30%.
- Ms. Lisa Paus, the Federal Family Minister, advocated for more consistency in enforcing the legal obligation for companies in Germany to publish their Female Quota targets, highlighting potential penalties for violations.
- According to the report, only 62.1% of the 2109 German companies, including those in the private sector, federal civil service, and companies with Federal Government majority ownership, published a Female Quota target last year.
- In an interview with dpa, Ms. Paus emphasized that her goal is to make regulatory violations related to the Female Quota more visible and effectively enforce sanctions, with the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (Bafin) and the Federal Office of Justice responsible for enforcing these regulations in Germany.
- In the private sector, the proportion of female supervisory board members has seen significant growth since 2015, increasing by more than seven percentage points to 26%, as shown in the report.
- Lisa Paus, the Chefeta (German for Chief Executive Officer or head of an organization) of this particular issue, called for stricter enforcement of the Female Quota regulations, asserting that it is crucial for more women to have equal representation in leading positions and company boards across Germany.
