Equality - Study: More women in top jobs at municipal companies in the East
Women are more frequently represented in top positions of local companies in the East than in the West, according to a study. While the eastern German federal states, excluding Berlin, have a female representation of 23.2 percent in these companies, it is only 18.6 percent in the western federal states, excluding Hamburg and Bremen. This is based on an evaluation by Zeppelin University Friedrichshafen.
Nationwide, the proportion of female executives in local companies is reportedly 22.1 percent - 0.6 percentage points higher than the previous year. More than half of the cities, in which at least 30 percent of the top positions are held by women, are therefore located in Eastern Germany.
1,420 Companies Analyzed
A total of 1,420 local companies were analyzed in 69 cities where the public sector holds the majority. Consequently, 461 of the total 2,087 positions in supervisory boards, executive boards, or management were held by women. In addition to the city-states and state capitals, the four largest cities in each federal state were included in the study - measured by population. The data was collected in April.
In the investigation period, 244 new top positions in communal companies were filled - 27.9 percent of them by women. This represents an increase of 6.0 percentage points compared to the previous year, but is still relatively low, it is stated.
Hannover Leads the Rankings
The leading city is the Lower Saxony state capital Hannover, with a female representation of 50.0 percent in the top positions of communal companies (previous year: 37.5 percent). Weimar in Thuringia follows with 44.4 percent (an increase of 8.8 percentage points), and Jena with 42.1 percent (previous year: 33.3 percent). Openbach am Main, the leader from the previous year, ranked fourth.
- The study revealed that Saxony-Anhalt, excluding Berlin, has a higher proportion of women in top positions of local companies compared to Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
- Friedrichshafen's Zeppelin University conducted an evaluation, finding that eastern German federal states have a higher representation of women in top company positions than their western counterparts.
- In Bremen, the proportion of women in top positions of local companies is lower than in Brandenburg, according to the data analyzed by the company.
- The city of Hamburg, unlike some other western federal states, shows a higher representation of women in top positions of local companies compared to an average in the East.
- The investigation covered 1,420 local companies in 69 municipalities, with more than half of the cities having a proportion of women in top positions above 30%.
- Berlin, although not a federal state, had a lower representation of women in top positions compared to several eastern German federal states, such as Saxony and Thuringia.
- In 244 newly filled top positions in communal companies within the investigation period, only 27.9% were filled by women, indicating a relatively low representation of women in these positions.
