An analysis of the board structure of the 160 companies listed on the DAX, MDAX and SDAX, which the auditing and advisory firm EY conducts twice a year, shows that there have never been so many women on the boards of directors of top German corporations.
The proportion of female executives on the boards of DAX, MDAX and SDAX companies increased again last year and is now 15.5% – 2.3 percentage points higher than a year ago and also more than double four years ago (7.9%). In absolute numbers: 109 of the 705 board members are women. As of January 1, 2023, which is 17 more than the previous year.
However, there are still seven male colleagues for a female top manager. When you look at the CEO level, the discrepancy becomes even more evident: nine of the 160 executive positions are held by women managers. Many German corporate boards are still mostly dominated by men.
DAX companies are key drivers of change
It is particularly notable that the companies in the DAX appear to play a pioneering role when it comes to diversity. At 21.2%, the proportion of women here is significantly higher than in the SDAX (12.4%) and MDAX (12%) companies. This is also due to the fact that women are increasingly being called upon to fill vacant board positions, especially in the DAX: last year, 22 new board members were appointed to the DAX, eleven of whom were women.
When filling board positions, companies in Germany’s top index appear to pay more attention to gender balance than companies in the other two indices. For example, 50% of new DAX Executive Board members were women. In MDAX, the proportion of women among new hires was 35%, in SDAX only 30%.
Across all indices, one in two companies (51.9%) now has at least one woman on their board of directors – up from 46.5% a year ago. Here too the differences between the indices are evident: in the DAX almost nine out of ten companies (85%) have at least one female director, in the SDAX (43%) and in the MDAX (38%), on the other hand, there are almost four out of ten companies.
The highest percentage of women in the consumer goods, telecommunications and real estate sectors
In the consumer goods sector, there is an above-average number of female directors: almost one in four board members (24%) are female. The percentage of female managers on the board of directors is also high in companies operating in the telecommunications (21%) and real estate (21%) sectors. Media companies (8%), energy suppliers (9%) and IT companies (11%), on the other hand, have the lowest percentage of female board members. Nearly one in three board members (32%) are responsible for operational functions, one in four managers (25%) are responsible for the HR department. One in five women (20%) holds the role of CFO.
EY since 05.01.2023 / Viola C. Didier, RES JURA editorial staff
