Press release

FidAR WoB-Index: Pressure of quota is having an effect - DAX companies are bringing more women into the boardroom / Stagnation in the proportion of women on supervisory boards

• Federal Minister for Women's Affairs Lisa Paus: "Fixed legal quotas work - in Germany as in Europe"
• FidAR founding president Schulz-Strelow: "Target figures have so far largely come to nothing"
• FidAR Vice President Seng: "Existing quotas should be extended to more companies"

Berlin, 30.06.2022: The minimum participation requirement for women on management boards in Germany, which will apply from August, is having an effect. Already 15 of the affected listed companies have appointed a woman to the board since the announcement of the legislative plans in October 2020. The proportion of women on the management boards of the 183 companies currently listed on the DAX, MDAX and SDAX as well as those listed on the Regulated Market, which are co-determined on a parity basis, has risen to 14.7 per cent (2021: 13%). In contrast, the proportion of women on supervisory boards continues to stagnate at 33.5 per cent (2021: 33.2 %). This is the result of FidAR's current Women-on-Board Index as of April 2022, which is published today on the occasion of the expiry of the first regular five-year period for the implementation of the voluntary targets in Berlin.

Minimum shareholding requirement shows direct effect

However, the minimum participation requirement currently only applies to 62 companies. New women have been appointed to the executive boards of adidas, BAYER, E.ON, HeidelbergCement and Infineon Technologies in the DAX, Knorr-Bremse, Talanx, Uniper and Wacker Chemie in the MDAX, Fielmann, HOCHTIEF, Südzucker and Traton in the SDAX as well as Hapag-Lloyd and HENSOLDT in the Regulated Market - HENSOLDT returned to the SDAX in June. There is still a need for action at 16 of the 62 corporations - they will have to appoint at least one woman to the executive board from August onwards when new members are joining. Three of these 16 companies, BayWa, Koenig & Bauer and Krones, have currently continued to set a target of zero women for the executive floor.

Significant increases in the proportion of women on executive boards

This continues the trend in board appointments from the previous year. The overall proportion of women has risen by 1.7 percentage points since 2021 to 14.7 per cent. At companies subject to the supervisory boards quota, the proportion is slightly higher at 16.2 per cent (+2.1 since 2021), at companies not subject to the quota at only 12.5 per cent (+1.2 since 2021). Furthermore, at 93, more than half of the 183 companies surveyed still do not have a woman on the board. The number of companies with a female-free boardroom that have set a target of "zero" women fell from 62 in the previous year to 44.

Standstill in the supervisory boards

While participation on supervisory boards developed positively, especially after the introduction of the supervisory board quota in 2015, the proportion of women stagnated at the level. Overall, the proportion of women on the supervisory boards of the 183 companies has increased minimally by 0.3 percentage points to 33.5 per cent since 2021. In the 101 companies currently subject to the supervisory board quota, the proportion of women fell to 35.6 per cent (2021: 35.9 %). In contrast, the 82 DAX companies not subject to the quota remain below 30 per cent at 27.1 per cent (+2.6 since 2021).

Lisa Paus: "Fixed legal quotas work - in Germany as in Europe"

"The current WoB-Index shows once again: legal quotas work. We need fixed quotas to enforce equal participation in leadership positions. With their high qualifications and performance, women contribute significantly to the success of companies. This must be adequately reflected in all management levels of companies. The minimum participation requirement for women on management boards has already proven to be the right way forward and is having an equal effect," emphasises Federal Minister for Women's Affairs Lisa Paus. "This applies at both national and European level. With the EU Executive Positions Directive supported by the Federal Government, we are now taking the next step to significantly advance women's equality throughout the European economy."

Monika Schulz-Strelow: "Still too many companies with a target size of zero women for the board of directors"

"The minimum participation requirement is bringing movement into the boardrooms. But 62 affected companies are simply too few to really give momentum to equal participation in the DAX corporate fleet. The legal requirement of 30 per cent for supervisory boards is also obviously misunderstood by many companies as a maximum limit. The goal of modern corporate governance must remain to have equal representation on all boards in the medium term - supervisory board, executive board and top management. A lack of pressure from the legislator is no excuse for a lack of commitment. 44 Companies with no women in the boardroom and a target of zero women for the board are unacceptable. Companies need credible gender equality concepts and noticeably more women at all management levels," explains FidAR founding president Monika Schulz-Strelow, who has been in charge of the WoB-Index since its first edition in 2011.

Anja Seng: "Existing quotas should be extended to more companies"

"We finally have movement again in the executive floors of the top stock market league! With the appointment of Carla Kriwet as CEO of Fresenius Medical Care from 2023, a second DAX 40 company will soon have a woman as CEO. But we must not rest on our laurels. In other countries, female CEOs have long been a matter of course. Germany continues to lag behind in equal participation. There are enough qualified women for top positions in business. We expect even more commitment here and will make the development transparent in the WoB-Index," emphasises the Vice President of FidAR, Prof. Dr. Anja Seng. "For us it is clear: the gender quota for supervisory boards and the minimum participation requirement for boards of directors apply to far too few companies. Women in management must also become the norm in other companies that are not covered by the regulations. We will continue to advocate for an expansion and increase of gender quotas in the future."

The WoB-Index is funded by the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth. The detailed study on the Women-on-Board-Index 185 by FidAR can be found at www.wob-index.de.

Your contact persons

Monika Schulz-Strelow, Founding President FidAR - Frauen in die Aufsichtsräte e. V. (Women on Supervisory Boards). , Berlin
phone: +49 (30) 887 14 47 13, e-mail: monika.schulz-strelow@fidar.de

Prof. Dr. Anja Seng, Vice President Frauen in die Aufsichtsräte e. V., Berlin
phone: +49 (1 51) 12 54 64 60, e-mail: anja.seng@fidar.de

Press contact

Matthias Struwe | Eye Communications | Press and Public Relations Agency
phone: +49 (7 61) 137 62-21, E-Mail: m.struwe@eyecommunications.de

About FidAR:

FidAR - Frauen in die Aufsichtsräte e. V. (Women on Supervisory Boards) is a non-partisan and supra-regional initiative launched in 2006 by women in leadership positions in business, science and politics. FidAR aims to achieve a sustainable increase in the proportion of women on the supervisory boards of German companies and to improve corporate control and culture. The goal of the initiative, supported by over 1,100 women and men, is equal representation in all management positions in the German economy. FidAR pursues these goals in close exchange with business, politics, science and in cooperation with the relevant business and women's associations. More information on FidAR is available on the internet at www.fidar.de.