The University of Europe for Applied Sciences (UE) has analyzed the proportion of women on the management boards of DAX 40 companies

• The proportion of women is 24.5 percent
• The Executive Board of Porsche Holding AG consists exclusively of men
• Highest proportion of women on the Management Board of Siemens Healthineers AG at 50 percent

Berlin, June 22, 2024 – Only just under a quarter of CEOs in the DAX 40 companies are female. This is shown by an analysis by the University of Europe for Applied Sciences (UE), which examined the proportion of women in DAX 40 companies. In a sector comparison, companies in the automotive, aerospace, mechanical engineering and defense industries fared the worst with a female quota of 18.3 percent.

Women are clearly underrepresented on management boards

The study shows that, despite legal regulations, gender diversity on management boards remains a challenge. The lowest proportion of women is on the Executive Board of Porsche Automobil Holding SE, which is made up entirely of men at the car manufacturer. The two penultimate places in the ranking are occupied by Heidelberg Materials and Volkswagen AG – here the proportion of women is 11.1 percent in each case.

Most women sit on the Management Board of Siemens Healthineers AG. Half of these are female executives. The management boards of Allianz SE and Beiersdorf AG also show a comparatively strong presence of women in management positions with 44.4% and 42.9% respectively.

Zalando SE, Merck KGaA and E.ON each have a female share of 40.0%, followed by the Mercedes-Benz Group and Deutsche Telekom with 37.5%.

Proportion of women on management boards varies within the different sectors

Women are particularly underrepresented in the automotive, aerospace, mechanical engineering and defense industries. Only 18.3 percent of the management level here is female. The proportion of women in the technology sector is also comparatively low at 22.2 percent.

In the retail and consumer sector, there are significantly more women in managerial roles: the proportion of women here is 31.8%. Companies in the utilities, environment and infrastructure sectors follow just behind with a share of 31.4%.

“The underrepresentation of women on company boards, particularly in the technology and automotive sectors, is a reflection of social structures of disadvantage that create a “glass ceiling” (gläserne Decke), which already affects access to education and then makes career paths into management positions significantly more difficult for women. We therefore need more support for women in educational institutions, companies and politics in order to create role models and break down these barriers so that we come one step closer to real equal opportunities,” comments Prof. Dr. Jiré Emine Gözen, Vice President International Affairs and University Development and Professor of Media and Cultural Theory, UE-Campus Berlin.