Germany: government wants to introduce “flexible quotas” to increase the number of women on companies’ boards

The French example.  For once, France is an example for Germany since it signed, in January, the introduction of a statutory and mandatory quota of 40% of women by 2017 (20% in 2014) at the head of large businesses.  Drawing from this example, on January 31, 2011, Minister for Employment Ursula von der Leyen said she was in favor of the introduction of a 30% legal quota of women on the management and on the boards of listed German businesses.  The announcement made by von der Leyen, star of the federal government and close to Angela Merkel, immediately sparked off controversy over a subject which is highly disputed in Germany.  In theory at least, the Germans are extremely sensible to the issue of gender equality at work.  However, in practice, only 3.2% of management members in large businesses are women.  On boards, the proportion is 10%.  In 2001, the Schröder administration already made a pact with the economic world to improve these numbers on a voluntary basis.  However, 10 years later, things are almost exactly the same.
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% legal quota of women on the management and on the boards of listed German businesses. The announcement made by von der Leyen, star of the federal government and close to Angela Merkel, immediately sparked off controversy over a subject which is highly disputed in Germany. In theory at least, the Germans are extremely sensible to the issue of gender equality at work. However, in practice, only 3.2% of management members in large businesses are women. On boards, the proportion is 10%. In 2

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