Against the international trend: the proportion of women on Dax boards is falling

In many leading economies, the proportion of women in company management is steadily increasing. Germany is an inglorious exception. There are fewer female managers here than in the previous year. In eleven Dax companies, not a single woman is in a top position.

The proportion of women on the top floors of German stock market heavyweights has fallen against the international trend for the first time in years. As of September 1, 2020, the 30 Dax companies had 23 managers on the board, according to a study by the non-profit Allbright Foundation. A year ago it was 29. "Whatever prompts supervisory boards to rely even more on men on executive boards during the crisis – it is a short-sighted reflex that shows how little the diversity of perspectives is anchored at German company heads is ", criticized Wiebke Ankersen, co-managing director of the Allbright Foundation.

This will block the urgently needed modernization push at the top of companies, which has long been in full swing abroad, said Ankersen. The development in the top management of German companies does not fit with the self-image of a progressive western industrial country, argued Ankersen and her co-managing director Christian Berg.

In an international comparison, the German stock market heavyweights have fallen further according to the study. The proportion of female executives on the Executive Board fell to 12.8 percent. It was the first decline since the first study in 2016. In the USA, the proportion of women on the top floor rose from 30 stock market heavyweights to 28.6 percent, in Sweden to 24.9 percent, in Great Britain to 24.5 percent, in France to 22.2 percent and in Poland to 15.6 percent. The increases were between 0.8 percent (USA) and 2.6 percent (Poland).

Only four Dax giants have several women on their board

"Only if women and men take responsibility together can we be successful in these challenging times", wrote EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in a closing remarks. The figures of the German companies stand in contrast to other European countries, in which the positive trend continues and the results are significantly better.

According to the study, there were eleven DAX companies on the reporting date without a single female executive on the board. A year earlier there were only six companies. In all 30 DAX companies, the proportion of women on the executive board is below 30 percent. In only four companies have several female managers on the top floor. These include Allianz, Daimler, Deutsche Telekom and Fresenius Medical Care. In contrast, 97 percent of large US companies and 87 percent of top French corporations have at least two women on their boards. The German-Swedish Allbright Foundation advocates more women and diversity in management positions in business.