Germany Sets Gender Quota in Boardrooms
Germany has committed to increasing the number of females on corporate boards, passing a law Friday that requires companies to give 30 percent of supervisory seats to women.
erix! (CC BY 2.0)
Germany has committed to increasing the number of females on corporate boards, passing a law Friday that requires companies to give 30 percent of supervisory seats to women.
The New York Times reports:
Fewer than 20 percent of the seats on corporate boards in Germany are held by women, while some of the biggest multinational companies in the world are based here, including Volkswagen, BMW and Daimler — the maker of Mercedes-Benz vehicles — as well as Siemens, Deutsche Bank, BASF, Bayer and Merck.
Supporters said the measure has the potential to substantially alter the landscape of corporate governance here and to have repercussions far beyond Germany’s borders.
In passing the law, Germany joined a trend in Europe to accomplish what has not happened organically, or through general pressure: to legislate a much greater role for women in boardrooms.
Read more here.
— Posted by Alexander Reed Kelly.
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