In November, the coalition government in Germany passed a law to close the gender gap in board level executives.
The new law reverses an unsuccessful, voluntary system established in 2016 and:
– places a requirement on listed companies with more than three board members to ensure at least one of them is female;
– states that companies where the German government has a stake will need for at least 30% of its board to be female.
By passing the Bill, Germany joins a number of other countries with mandatory board level quotas, in a move described as a historical but criticised by opposition as not nearly radical enough.
So what?
Gender quotas on corporate boards, often perceived as controversial, have been implemented by a number of countries including Belgium, France, Germany, Iceland, India, Israel, Italy, Norway, Pakistan and Spain. The results are reported as mixed, with the quota in board level representation rarely positively affecting gender equality in lower managerial positions. Progress in gender board diversity has also been accused of advancing substantially faster for white women, creating further inequalities on the basis of race.
Sources
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Germany agrees to mandatory quota for female executives https://www.ft.com/content/1bbb07fa-02c0-46c8-9c1a-a80e6a46ea63 -
Germany moves to close the gender gap by requiring companies to put women on executive boards https://www.businessinsider.com/germany-requires-companies-put-women-on-executive-boards-2020-11
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