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Frauenanteil in Topgremien großer Unternehmen in Deutschland nimmt geringfügig zu: DAX-30-Unternehmen mit größerer Dynamik

Author

Listed:
  • Elke Holst
  • Julia Schimeta

Abstract

Despite companies' commitment to more women in top-level management, at the end of 2012 only four percent of all seats on the executive boards and 12.9 percent on the supervisory boards of the top 200 companies in Germany were occupied by women. This corresponds to an increase of one percentage point on the previous year in both cases. Nevertheless, at the end of the year, the proportion of women on the executive boards of the DAX 30 companies, which are at the center of public interest, was 7.8 percent (up 4.1 percentage points on the previous year) and 19.4 percent on supervisory boards (up 3.7 percentage points). In companies with government-owned shares, which are often smaller than the DAX 30 companies or the top 200 companies, the representation of women was somewhat higher at 11.2 percent on executive boards and 19.9 percent on supervisory boards. Overall, employee representatives still make up the majority of women on the supervisory boards. In none of the company groups studied had the dominance of men been challenged. Initially, the number of women was too low and the dynamics of change not powerful enough. Within Europe, Germany is ranked sixth in terms of percentage of women in the top-level decision-making bodies of listed companies. On the one hand, this reflects the fundamental difficulties faced by women, in other countries, too, as far as taking up executive positions is concerned. On the other hand, they are ranked relatively high because only the supervisory boards of the DAX 30 companies are taken into account for the European comparison. This focus on supervisory boards of DAX companies for evaluating women's opportunities in corporate boardrooms is too short sighted, however. Trotz der Selbstverpflichtung der Wirtschaft zu mehr Frauen in Führungspositionen waren 2012 nur vier Prozent aller Vorstandsund fast 13 Prozent aller Aufsichtsratssitze in den Top-200-Unternehmen in Deutschland von Frauen besetzt. Dies entspricht einem Anstieg von jeweils einem Prozentpunkt gegenüber dem Vorjahr. Bei den DAX-30-Unternehmen, die im Fokus des öffentlichen Interesses stehen, lag der Frauenanteil Ende des Jahres immerhin bei fast acht Prozent in den Vorständen (+4,1 Prozentpunkte gegenüber dem Vorjahr) und bei gut 19 Prozent in den Aufsichtsräten (+3,7 Prozentpunkte). Bei den meist kleineren Unternehmen mit Bundesbeteiligung lag der Anteil mit gut elf Prozent Frauen in den Vorständen und fast 20 Prozent in den Aufsichtsräten etwas höher. Insgesamt stellen die Arbeitnehmervertreterinnen nach wie vor die Mehrheit unter den Frauen in den Aufsichtsräten. In keiner der untersuchten Unternehmensgruppen konnte das Überwiegen der Männer aufgebrochen werden. Dazu war das Ausgangsniveau zu niedrig und die Dynamik zu gering. Im europäischen Vergleich nimmt Deutschland hinsichtlich des Frauenanteils im höchsten Entscheidungsgremium von börsennotierten Unternehmen den sechsten Rang ein. Dies belegt einerseits, dass auch in anderen Ländern grundsätzliche Schwierigkeiten für Frauen bestehen, in Leitungspositionen zu gelangen. Andererseits geht die recht günstige Positionierung auch darauf zurück, dass für den europäischen Vergleich einzig die Aufsichtsräte der DAX-30-Unternehmen herangezogen werden. Die Fokussierung auf Aufsichtsräte von DAX-30-Unternehmen zur Beurteilung der Chancen von Frauen in den Spitzengremien großer Unternehmen greift jedoch zu kurz.

Suggested Citation

  • Elke Holst & Julia Schimeta, 2013. "Frauenanteil in Topgremien großer Unternehmen in Deutschland nimmt geringfügig zu: DAX-30-Unternehmen mit größerer Dynamik," DIW Wochenbericht, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research, vol. 80(3), pages 3-14.
  • Handle: RePEc:diw:diwwob:80-3-1
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Breu, Christopher & Schönbohm, Avo & Löcher, Markus, 2015. "Impact of investor presentations on share prices: Evidence from DAX 30 companies from 2010-2012," Working Papers 88, Berlin School of Economics and Law, Institute of Management Berlin (IMB).
    2. Stefan Bauernschuster & Anita Fichtl & Anita Dietrich, 2013. "Brauchen wir eine gesetzliche Frauenquote?," ifo Schnelldienst, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 66(02), pages 39-48, January.
    3. Duran, Mihael & Pull, Kerstin, 2014. "Der Beitrag der Arbeitnehmervertreter zur fachlichen und geschlechtlichen Diversitaet von Aufsichtsraeten: Erkenntnisse einer qualitativ-explorativen Analyse (Worker directors and supervisory board di," Industrielle Beziehungen - Zeitschrift fuer Arbeit, Organisation und Management - The German Journal of Industrial Relations, Rainer Hampp Verlag, vol. 21(4), pages 329-351.
    4. Buschmann, Benjamin & Gärtner, Debora & Grimm, Veronika & Osiander, Christopher & Stephan, Gesine, 2018. "Wann würden Frauen für Tarifkommissionen kandidieren? Befunde aus einem faktoriellen Survey [When would women put themselves up for election on wage negotiation commissions? Evidence from a factori," Industrielle Beziehungen. Zeitschrift für Arbeit, Organisation und Management, Verlag Barbara Budrich, vol. 25(3), pages 320-342.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Board diversity; women CEOs; gender equality; management; listed companies; private companies; public companies; women quotas;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D22 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Firm Behavior: Empirical Analysis
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J59 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - Other
    • J78 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination - - - Public Policy (including comparable worth)
    • L21 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Business Objectives of the Firm
    • L32 - Industrial Organization - - Nonprofit Organizations and Public Enterprise - - - Public Enterprises; Public-Private Enterprises
    • M14 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - Corporate Culture; Diversity; Social Responsibility
    • M51 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Personnel Economics - - - Firm Employment Decisions; Promotions

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