Women still rare in German boardrooms

U.S. corporations have developed many initiatives to increase the number of women in senior business leadership positions, but none so aggressive as the Norwegian mandate for 40% of board seats for women. As of 2008, women only make up 15.2% of board seats of Fortune 500 companies (the largest publicly held corporations in the U.S.), according to the most recent study by Catalyst in New York.

These statistics of women on boards, both in Germany and the United States, beg the question: How much of a top priority is diversity in these organization?

Grass-roots, bottom-up diversity initiatives in the U.S. have been the driving force for much of the corporate diversity discussion, and this approach is closely tied to the American rebellious, entrepreneurial business ethos. Can European companies adopt an approach that includes bottom-up efforts from passionate employees who want to help create truly meritocratic work environment?

These are questions around social change. Do European corporations feel responsible to drive this change, or is it in the hands of the European Union and each member state? At JBC, we believe that it is a shared effort, and we work with major corporations to develop strategic diversity initiatives that benefit both employees and the business. And in this economy, companies cannot afford to turn a blind eye to top talent, no matter the gender, nationality, sexual orientation or background of the individual.

David Megathlin

Senior Director ?- Research

JBC ?- Berlin