German firms 'still failing to promote women'
German firms are failing to put more women in top jobs, a new study shows – despite figures demonstrating that companies with women managers perform better than those run only by men.
A debate last year on whether to introduce women quotas in management and a few high-profile appointments would seem to have failed to change the culture of male-domination on the top floors of German business, the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW) said on Wednesday.
The percentage of woman on the boards of Germany’s top 30 companies rose from 1.5 percent to 3.7 percent over the past year, the DIW study showed.
Yet women are even more difficult to find on the board when the top 200 companies are considered, with the share of those with only men on the board rising dramatically from 8.8 percent in 2010 to 23.6 percent today.
Although more than 11 percent of board members in the top 200 firms are women, of these more than two thirds represent workers rather than management, the study showed.
German companies may do well to examine their managers – another study released on Wednesday showed that European companies with women on the board perform better than those comprising just of men.
The study, by business consultancy Ernst & Young showed that, statistically, companies who give some of their top managerial spots to women have experienced an increase in turnover, sales and market value between 2005 and 2010.
Those firms with only men at the helm performed below average and experienced a slower rate of growth over the period examined.
The Local/DPA
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A debate last year on whether to introduce women quotas in management and a few high-profile appointments would seem to have failed to change the culture of male-domination on the top floors of German business, the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW) said on Wednesday.
The percentage of woman on the boards of Germany’s top 30 companies rose from 1.5 percent to 3.7 percent over the past year, the DIW study showed.
Yet women are even more difficult to find on the board when the top 200 companies are considered, with the share of those with only men on the board rising dramatically from 8.8 percent in 2010 to 23.6 percent today.
Although more than 11 percent of board members in the top 200 firms are women, of these more than two thirds represent workers rather than management, the study showed.
German companies may do well to examine their managers – another study released on Wednesday showed that European companies with women on the board perform better than those comprising just of men.
The study, by business consultancy Ernst & Young showed that, statistically, companies who give some of their top managerial spots to women have experienced an increase in turnover, sales and market value between 2005 and 2010.
Those firms with only men at the helm performed below average and experienced a slower rate of growth over the period examined.
The Local/DPA
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