German board members 2018: More “Thomasse” and Michaels than women

A male monoculture continues to dominate among Germany’s top companies. This is the conclusion of the current Allbright Report, a politically independent and non-profit foundation based in Stockholm and Berlin.

The increase in the number of women on the boards of 160 German stock exchange companies last year was so small that it roughly corresponds to the simultaneous increase in the number of men named Thomas. A male monoculture dominates the top management, which they are unable to shake off: Thomas recruits Thomas and Thomas in turn recruits a Thomas who is very similar to him; on September 1, 2018, 92 percent of the board members are men. Little of the diversity in German society reaches these management levels.

Although last year there was an improvement in the proportion of women on the boards of medium-sized companies in the MDAX from 3.8 to 6.8 percent, in the large DAX groups, which have been the strongest drivers of change to date, the proportion has stagnated at last year’s level of 13.4 percent. In the USA and Sweden, the proportion of women on the boards is already twice as high and is growing much faster there.

Please see the full report in German languageĀ here.