The proportion of women in the 40 largest DAX companies rose from 19 to 22.7 percent in 2022. According to a study, only four companies still have no woman on the board. According to personnel consultant Jens-Thomas Pietralla, the culture change has arrived in the largest German companies.

The proportion of women on the executive boards of the 40 largest listed German companies rose from 19 to 22.7 percent last year. This is the result of an evaluation by the personnel consultancy Russell Reynolds with a key date of January 1, which was published over the weekend. In the past year, more women than men have been appointed to the board. Two DAX companies – Siemens Healthineers and Fresenius Medical Care – even have 50 percent women.

The law, according to which listed and equally co-determined companies with more than three board members must have at least one woman on the board, works quickly and clearly, said consultant Jens-Thomas Pietralla. Only four DAX companies still have no woman on the board. Half of the board members were recruited from within their own ranks. More women would also be appointed to positions with profit responsibility instead of primarily to the human resources department, as was previously the case. This shows “that the cultural change has arrived at least in the largest German companies and is beginning to bear fruit”. The proportion of German citizens on the DAX boards has fallen from 67 to 63 percent.

According to Russell Reynolds, the proportion of women on the executive boards of the 50 medium-sized stock corporations listed in the M-DAX rose from 11.7 to 13.7 percent. Half of the M-DAX companies are only managed by men.