What Germany can learn from the USA

What is the percentage of women in senior management in the United States of America? Is 33% much higher than German DAX stocks? After all, far fewer women work in the United States than in Germany, and many stay at home with their children. Because there is no such thing as consensus: affordable childcare across the board, the right to parental leave or even parental allowance are foreign concepts out there.

The big difference is that the women who work there usually work full time – and are promoted to management positions more consistently; There are usually many women on the team at all management levels.

Competition among talent is as fair as possible

Awareness of equal opportunity and representation was established there much earlier, better and more deeply than in this country. Anything other than diversity in senior management is no longer acceptable there: after all, the best should be selected and talent should be distributed equally, but opportunities are often not like that. Strict anti-discrimination legislation makes it difficult to favor mediocrity simply because it fits a familiar mold.

Hence, companies ensure that the talent competition is as fair as possible: a healthy corporate culture, early talent development, and continuous promotion and retention of women are required.

Companies have it in their hands

Germany can learn a lot on these points: the percentage of female graduates in business administration has exceeded 50% for more than a decade, and women also start in companies but do not reach the top.

If such a high proportion of women in leadership positions is possible in an unfavorable environment like the USA, how much better might it be in Germany, where there is a particularly large number of educated working women? Companies should not underestimate their potential, it is in their hands.

Ankersen cries With Christian Berg, he runs the German-Swedish Albright Foundation, which advocates for increasing the number of women in leadership positions. Alternating with other authors, she writes about equality, diversity and the female perspective of economics.