Press release

FidAR WoB Index: Top management in Germany increasingly in male hands again / Proportion of women in executive boards falls / Stagnation on supervisory boards

•    Federal Minister for Women, Prien: “Now more than ever, we must attract more female talent”
•    FidAR founding president Schulz-Strelow: “Leadership without women and ‘zero target’ on the rise”
•    FidAR President Seng: “More pressure is needed through fixed quotas”

Berlin, 29 July 2026: The rise in the proportion of women in senior management positions in the private sector, which had been continuing for years, has largely come to a halt. On the supervisory boards of the 183 companies currently listed on the DAX, MDAX and SDAX, as well as those listed on the Regulated Market and subject to equal co-determination, the proportion has stagnated at 37 per cent (2025: 37 per cent). On executive boards, the proportion of women has fallen to 19.1 per cent (2025: 19.9 per cent). Most companies are therefore still a long way from achieving gender parity on their boards. At the same time, the number of companies with a target of zero women on their executive boards – meaning they plan to continue with an all-male executive board in future – is rising. These are the key findings of FidAR’s latest Women-on-Board Index, updated to May 2026, which is being published today in Berlin.

All companies have met the gender quota and the minimum participation requirement

The gender quota for supervisory boards, introduced in 2015, is being met by far more companies than those required to do so: 139 – just over three-quarters – of the 183 companies surveyed have achieved a 30 per cent proportion of women on their supervisory boards. Eighty companies have a proportion of women of at least 40 per cent, thereby meeting the requirement of the EU Directive on Women in Leadership Positions – which does not apply in Germany – that stipulates higher quotas than the German regulation of 30 per cent. Twenty-eight companies have a supervisory board with at least equal representation of women and men. All 61 companies currently covered by the regulation are complying with the minimum representation requirement for executive boards, which has been in force since 2022. Südzucker – which last year was still the only group affected with no women in its executive board – has had a woman on its executive board since October 2025 in the form of Dr Theresa von Fugler as CCO. Almost unnoticed, the number of companies with no women on their executive boards has risen once again: 73 executive boards are composed exclusively of men.

A fixed quota is a guarantee of success

Over the eleven years since the introduction of the gender quota for supervisory boards, the proportion of women in companies subject to the fixed quota on supervisory boards has risen significantly more – both on supervisory boards and on executive boards – than in those not covered by this statutory provision. This trend has been reinforced by the introduction of the minimum representation requirement for executive boards under the FüPoG II. Overall, the proportion of women on the supervisory boards of leading listed companies has risen by 17.1 percentage points since 2015 to 37 per cent. The 101 companies currently subject to the supervisory board quota have achieved a higher proportion of 39 per cent than the 82 companies not subject to the quota, where the proportion has fallen to 31.2 per cent. As regards executive boards, the proportion of women at companies subject to the supervisory board quota has fallen to 22.1 per cent, whilst at companies not subject to the quota it has fallen to just 14.4 per cent.

Number of companies with a zero-women target on the rise

Whilst the fixed quotas are in force, companies are making less and less use of the targets for strategic workforce planning and for specifically increasing the proportion of women. Listed or co-determined German companies are obliged to set and publish targets for the proportion of women on supervisory boards, executive boards and the top two management levels. This applies in particular to companies that are not subject to a quota system. However, the number of targets published by the 183 companies surveyed is falling. By contrast, the number of companies with no women on their executive board – i.e. those setting a target of zero – has risen from 23 to 27. These companies continue to plan for an executive board without any women – whilst the vast majority of them (20) are companies not subject to the supervisory board quota, seven companies that are subject to the quota also have no women at the operational management level and are planning without women.

The track record of the statutory regulations suggests that fixed gender quotas should be extended to more companies. At present, only 101 listed companies with equal co-determination are subject to the supervisory board quota – indeed, the minimum representation requirement on the executive board applies to just 61 of these private-sector companies with more than three executive board members.

Federal Minister for Women Karin Prien: “We urgently need more women in leadership roles”

“The legal provisions of the laws on leadership positions have played a key role in ensuring that the proportion of women in leadership roles has risen steadily in recent years. Companies should now build on this and, particularly in times of stagnation and even regression, step up their commitment to increasing the number of women once again. One thing is clear: we need female talent at all levels of the economy. Having more women in leadership roles not only promotes equal opportunities but also makes a significant contribution to sustainable economic success,” said Federal Minister for Women’s Affairs Karin Prien.

Monika Schulz-Strelow: “The ‘comeback’ of the zero target is a warning sign”

“The gap between companies subject to the supervisory board quota and those not covered by the fixed quotas is widening ever further. It is a warning sign that the number of companies planning for a target of zero on their executive board has risen again. Executive boards devoid of women should be a thing of the past. The requirement to justify a target of zero is not sufficient to persuade companies to plan for more women in leadership roles. Targets must finally be understood and utilised as a strategic tool for improving equal participation. To this end, sanctions for non-compliance must be applied consistently. Without tangible pressure, the obligation to set targets will not be taken seriously,” said FidAR’s founding president, Monika Schulz-Strelow, who has been in charge of the WoB Index since its first edition in 2011.

Anja Seng: “Extend the scope of the binding rules”

“The statutory provisions of the Act on Women in Leadership Positions have been in effect for eleven years and have proved successful. It is now time to extend this success to more companies. The gender quota on supervisory boards should be increased to 40 per cent and extended to all companies that are listed on the stock exchange or subject to co-determination. Furthermore, the minimum participation requirement for executive boards should be converted into a fixed quota and applied to more companies. Only when more women hold leadership positions will equal participation become the social norm. In other European countries, the EU Directive on Leadership Positions, which sets gender quotas of 40 per cent and 33 per cent respectively for top-level bodies, is already being implemented – and applies to far more companies. The German business community should take this as a model and make a concerted effort to bring more women into its senior management ranks,” said FidAR President Anja Seng.

The WoB Index is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education, Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth. The full study on FidAR’s Women-on-Board Index can be found at www.wob-index.de.

Your contact persons

Prof. Dr. Anja Seng, President FidAR – Frauen in die Aufsichtsräte e. V., Berlin
phone: +49 (1 51) 12 54 64 60, eMail: anja.seng@fidar.de

Monika Schulz-Strelow, Founding President FidAR – Frauen in die Aufsichtsräte e. V., Berlin
phone: +49 (30) 887 14 47 13, eMail: monika.schulz-strelow@fidar.de

Press contact

Matthias Struwe | Eye Communications | Press and public relations agency
phone: +49 (7 61) 137 62-21, eMail: m.struwe@eyecommunications.de

About FidAR:

FidAR - Frauen in die Aufsichtsräte e. V. is a non-partisan and supra-regional initiative founded in 2006 by women in management positions in business, science and politics. FidAR aims to achieve a sustainable increase in the proportion of women on the supervisory boards of German companies and to improve corporate governance and culture. The aim of the initiative, which is supported by 1,500 women and men, is to achieve equal representation in all management positions in the German economy. FidAR pursues these goals in close dialogue with business, politics, science and in cooperation with the relevant business and women's associations. More information about FidAR is available on the Internet at www.fidar.de.