The top management of listed German companies is gradually acquiring feminine traits. A study by the consultancy Ernst & Young showed that, at the beginning of July, 101 women sat on the boards of directors of 160 companies in the DAX family of German indexes. This is the highest figure since monitoring began in 2013. Over the past six months, these companies have appointed 23 new directors, nine of whom were women.

In the last four years, the number of women in top management positions has nearly doubled. However, German companies are still mostly run by men, and boards of directors remain patriarchal. “The share of female managers is growing. Overall, the momentum is positive, but the pace is slow,” says Markus Heinen, an expert at Ernst & Young. In his opinion, the number of top leaders cannot be increased without legislative support. Today, only nine large German companies have a woman as head of the board of directors.

Women’s quota in Germany: new strict conditions

Germany lags behind in the European comparison. In order for women to be more widely represented in the management of private companies and public organizations, last year the German government decided to introduce a mandatory quota for women. As of August this year, the strict regulations of the Executive Positions Act (Führungspositionengesetz II) come into force. Listed companies with more than 2,000 employees and more than three people on the board of directors must ensure that there is at least one woman among the heads of new appointments. According to Ernst&Young, this will affect around a third of listed companies. If women are not involved in top management in the future, companies will be required to state the reasons for this decision.

Prior to that, the gender quota was advisory in nature, but some companies introduced it even before mandatory regulations came into force. The Women on Board Index, compiled by the authors of the FidAR initiative to support women in economics, science and politics, speaks of about 15 percent of women in business management. “Legislative quotas are working,” said Lisa Paus, Germany’s Minister for Family Affairs, Seniors, Women and Youth. “We need fixed quotas to ensure equal participation in leadership positions.” Mandatory quotas will serve as an impetus for more positive development, according to Ernst&Young analyst Markus Heinen, who is also convinced. And it’s not just about equality – the business itself can benefit from this: women in top management help to better take into account the interests of customers when developing a product or service and, as a result, create demand for them.