The small increase was attributed to a loss of momentum after a statutory minimum requirement was introduced in 2021 for women on executive boards. It required listed companies with full co-determination and an executive board with at least four members to have at least one woman board member.
The DIW said that this requirement applies to about 60 companies in Germany and that in their case women account for 19.0% of executive board members.
Katharina Wrolich, head of the Gender Economics research group at DIW Berlin, said the quotas are having an effect. “But even with a legal requirement, achieving gender equality is a long distance race rather than a sprint,” she said.