In spite of lasting vivid criticism from employers’ organizations and the right wing of Angela Merkel’s conservative union (CDU/CSU), the social democratic party, the chancellor’s new coalition partner, kicked off, on March 25, the legislative procedure for introducing a quota of women at the head of companies. At a joint press conference, Manuela Schwesig and Heiko Maas, respectively Minister for Family Affairs and Minister of Justice, both social democrats, presented the outline of a law introducing, in 2016, a quota of 30 percent of women on the supervisory boards of listed companies subject to co-management laws. However, businesses’ management won’t be subject to this quota. For their part, as early as 2015, other large businesses will have to define their own “binding objectives” to increase the share of women in management, and the deadline to do it. The two Ministers announced that they wanted their bill to pass this year and come into force in 2015.
“The quota of women will be adopted.” Even though it is very detailed, the text presented on March 25 by Manuela Schwesig, Minister for Family Affairs, and Heiko Maas, Minister of Justice, which is mainly based on the agreement signed in the grand coalition’s government program (see article No. 7949), is strangely not a bill yet. However, the two Ministers have left no doubt as to their resoluteness to have the government adopt their bill this year, so it can come into force in 2015. “The q
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