On 22 January 2020 the DIW Berlin (The German Institute for Economic Research) published its latest ‘Female Manager Barometer’ survey that revealed the proportion of women on the management and supervisory boards of Germany’s big companies had risen slightly in 2019. However in spite of the progress, the level of female representation at the company board level remains derisory, remarked the DIW. In a similar vein the German Families Minister (SPD) Franziska Giffey intends to harden the tone and announced in an interview on Sunday 19 January her willingness to impose ‘heavy fines’ on companies without targets for female management board representation and without presenting valid grounds as intended by law. Draft legislation on sanctions is currently being prepared, she warned.
Progress being made. Roughly a month after Christmas the DIW Berlin publishes its annual ‘Female Manager Barometer’ survey (in German) that examines changes in female participation at the management table of Germany’s top 500 companies. The DIW noted some progress has been made but nonetheless retained a cautious tone. Progress has been made in the private sector in terms of gender equality at management level, some of which has been of real substance, such as for example the nomination of the first female Chief Executive at SAP in October 2019 (Jennifer Morgan).
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