Since August 2022, the minimum participation requirement for large listed companies has stipulated that at least one woman sits on the management floor. What has happened since then?
According to an analysis, the boardrooms of the Dax companies are more female than ever. According to the analysis by the organization “Women in the Supervisory Boards” (Fidar), the proportion in the management bodies of the 40 German stock market heavyweights reached a high of 22.8 percent (as of February 1).
At the beginning of last year it was below 20 percent. Fidar announced that there are currently no female managers on the board of three Dax companies.
According to the evaluation, the percentage of women in the top floors of the 160 companies in the Dax family and the 23 companies listed on the regulated market that have full co-determination increased to 17.1 percent. That is also a top value.
According to Fidar, legal requirements play an important role. Listed companies with equal co-determination with more than 2,000 employees and more than three board members now have to make sure that at least one woman sits on the management floor when making appointments to the board. The minimum participation bid has applied to orders since August 1 and, according to Fidar, currently affects 64 companies.
Other listed or co-determined companies that do not fall under the minimum requirement must justify when they plan their board without women – i.e. when they state a “zero target” in their reports.
Federal Ministry for Women Lisa Paus sees the minimum participation requirement as a signal. “We see that more women are moving into managerial positions.” Statutory quotas worked in large companies. “Beyond that, however, there is still a lot of catching up to do,” warned the Green politician.
According to Fidar President Anja Seng, the requirement is having an effect “much faster than we expected, because management floors with equal rights make companies better.” The pressure on companies to enforce equal participation is increasing. dpa
