German Boards Appointing Women in a Race Against Quotas - Building Gender Balanced Business

“EU (Justice) Commissioner (Viviane) Reding has said she will look at the issue again in 2012 and if by then nothing happens, she might introduce quotas in the European level.” – Jutta von Falkenhausen, lawyer and vice president of pro-quota group FiDAR

There is widespread agreement that increasing the number of female executives will be a positive step for most companies, with statistics showing that more women in leadership positions can boost earnings, operating profit, and stock price growth. With an aging population and labor shortages on the horizon, it is also wise to broaden the talent pool. Yet Germany has been slow to put women in top positions.

• Only 3.2% of executives at the top 200 firms were female in 2010
• Until 2008, no woman had ever been appointed to the management board of a blue-chip firm in Germany
• Norway, France, and Spain already legally require major companies to have at least 1/3 of top management positions occupied by women

“We need to have a critical mass. You have only one or two women there and they end up adapting to the male mode. You need to change the corporate culture.” – Jutta von Falkenhausen

Opponents of legal quotas argue that creating more childcare options and expanding the number of women at all levels are better ways of promoting gender diversity. Chancellor Angela Merkel’s own cabinet is split on the legal quota issue, with all three female ministers taking different stands – one for, one against, and another in favor of a flexible quota.