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A Service of Leibniz-Informationszentrum econstor Wirtschaft Leibniz Information Centre Make Your Publications Visible. zbw for Economics Holst, Elke; Schimeta, Julia Article The German financial sector: Male dominance in top decision-making bodies remains pervasive DIW Economic Bulletin Provided in Cooperation with: German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin) Suggested Citation: Holst, Elke; Schimeta, Julia (2013) : The German financial sector: Male dominance in top decision-making bodies remains pervasive, DIW Economic Bulletin, ISSN 2192-7219, Deutsches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung (DIW), Berlin, Vol. 3, Iss. 3, pp. 16-24 This Version is available at: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/74670 Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen: Terms of use: Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Documents in EconStor may be saved and copied for your Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden. personal and scholarly purposes. 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With women on the executive and management boards (henceforth making up only 4.2 percent of the boards of the largest banks and executive boards) as well as the supervisory boards and administrative councils (henceforth supervisory boards1) savings banks, they were still vastly underrepresented at the end of of companies in Germany’s financial sector based on 2012 (up 1 percentage point from the end of 2011). The story is si- data collected annually by DIW Berlin.2 Using further milar on the boards of the major insurance companies. The situation data collected in the same framework, we compare the is somewhat better on supervisory boards: At the largest banks and gender composition of the decision-making bodies at the 100 largest banks and savings banks based on total savings banks, women made up 17.8 percent of all board members assets to that of the largest 61 insurance companies ba- at the end of 2012 (up 1.2 points), and 15.3 percent at insurance sed on gross revenues from premiums.3 Furthermore, companies (up 2.2 points). The vast majority of these women are we study the gender representation of executive boards employee representatives, but the percentage of women being ap- in public-sector banks and savings banks compared to private banks and cooperative banks. A second article pointed as shareholder representatives is increasing. in this issue of the DIW Economic Bulletin reports on the situation outside the financial sector based on data If the financial sector does not make significant progress in achie- on the 200 largest German companies outside the fi- ving more representation for women in top decision-making bodies nancial sector, the DAX 30, MDAX, and SDAX compa- 4 in the foreseeable future, political pressures on them to do so will nies and 60 federal government subsidiaries, The two articles in this issue thus address the top decision-ma- likely increase. This also applies to top positions in the ECB and the king bodies of more than 500 companies and institu- Financial Market Authority. tions in total. 1 If an institution has both a supervisory board and an administrative board, only the composition of the supervisory board was added to the calculations. 2 Most recently in 2012, see E. Holst and J. Schimeta, Passed Over for Promotions: Women Still Severely Underrepresented on Financial Sector Boards, DIW Economic Bulletin, no. 4 (2012). 3 The largest banks and savings banks by total assets (2011) were sourced from H. Huck, Die 100 größten deutschen Kreditinstitute, die bank - Zeitschrift für Bankpolitik und Praxis 8 (2012): 10–11. The largest insurance companies according to revenue from premiums (2011) based on Wolters Kluwer Deutschland GmbH, Die großen 500. Deutschlands Top-Unternehmen (Müssig Verlag, November 2012). Research on the composition of the top-level management bodies of banks, savings banks, and insurance companies was carried out from November to December 2012. It was based on the companies’ own statements published on the Internet, annual reports and accounts from 2011, articles in the German Federal Gazette (Bundesanzeiger) and on inquiries to companies by DIW Berlin. 4 E. Holst and J. Schimeta, Slightly More Women in Germany’s Corporate Boardrooms—More Dynamism in DAX 30 Companies, in this issue of DIW Economic Bulletin. 16 DIW Economic Bulletin 3.2013 THE GERMAN FINANCIAL SECTOR: MALE DOMINANCE IN TOP DECISION-MAKING BODIES REMAINS PERVASIVE Table 1 Share of Women in Employment Subject to Social Insurance Contributions by Economic Sector In percent 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Provision of financial services1 57.0 57.1 57.2 57.3 57.4 57.4 57.6 57.4 56.9 56.9 57.1 57.2 57.1 56.9 Central banks and credit institutions 57.2 57.3 57.5 57.6 57.8 57.8 58.0 57.8 57.2 57.3 57.6 57.6 57.6 57.5 Insurance companies, reinsurance companies and pensi- 46.8 47.2 47.6 47.8 48.0 48.3 48.8 49.1 48.9 48.8 50.0 49.2 49.2 49.3 on funds (excluding social security)2 Activities associated with financial and insurance ser- 60.2 60.0 59.7 60.4 61.3 61.5 62.1 61.1 61.6 61.5 61.2 60.9 60.8 60.8 vices3 1 Listed as "Credit Services Industry" up to 2008. 2 Listed as "Insurance Industry" up to 2008. 3 Listed as "Activities Associated with the Credit and Insurance Industry" sector up to 2008. Source: German Federal Statistical Office, Federal Employment Agency. © DIW Berlin 2013 Majority of women employed in the financial sector. More Women Than Men Employed in the Top 100 Banks and Savings Banks Financial Sector For many years, women have made up the majority of Executive Boards: 17 Women to 390 Men employees in the financial sector. In 2012, they repre- sented almost six out of 10 workers in financial services Men were still overrepresented on the executive boards of provision. In related areas of financial services and in- the top 100 banks and savings banks at the end of 2012. surance activities, it was more than 60 percent (see Ta- In 83 percent of all financial institutions, there was not ble 1). In 2011, just over 57 percent of all employees at a single woman in their decision-making bodies (end Volks- and Raiffeisen Banks were women, according to of 2011: 88 percent) (see Table 2). In 17 of 100 executive data from the respective employers’ association.5 Accor- boards, there was only one woman. In total, there were ding to the German Savings Banks and Giro Associati- 17 women compared to 390 men (2011: 391). Three of on (DGSV), women made up almost 63 percent of the the women were CEOs on their respective boards (three workforce at German savings banks in 2011.6 With re- percent compared to one percent in 2011). With a share gard to insurance, data from the Employers’ Associati- of just over four percent (up one percentage point) wo- on of Insurance Companies in Germany (AGV) showed men clearly remained in the minority. Obviously, more that in 2011, women represented 47 percent of insuran- effective steps need to be taken in the foreseeable fu- ce sector employees overall and more than 54 percent ture to raise the percentage of women to anywhere near of in-house staff.7 that of men. Since 2006, the share of women on execu- tive boards only increased by an annual average of 0.3 percentage points.8 Supervisory Boards: Moderate Decrease in Inequalities At the end of 2012, the proportion of women on the su- pervisory boards of Germany’s largest banks and sa- vings banks was, as expected, higher than that of wo- 5 Arbeitgeberverband der Deutschen Volksbanken und Raiffeisenbanken men on their executive boards. Overall, women made e. V.: Beschäftigungsstruktur 2011 (2012). www.avr.org/avr.nsf/DF- F0197809AF5693C12571CB0025AB6D/$FILE/Personalstatistik2011Bescha- eftigungsstruktur.pdf [December 20, 2012]. 8 It is very unlikely that companies in the banks and savings banks sector 6 Deutscher Sparkassen- und Giroverband (DSGV), Der Finanzbericht 2011. will achieve a 40-percent share of women on their executive boards within (Berlin: 2012): 35. three years—as is required for listed and co-determined companies. See also the 7 Arbeitgeberverband der Versicherungsunternehmen in Deutschland e. V. draft law on the Promotion of Equal Opportunities for Men and Women in (AGV), Frauenanteil in den Unternehmen (2012). www.agv-vers.de/projekte/ Business Enterprises (ChGlFöG). Bundestag printed paper no. 17/8878 dated frauen-in-fuehrung/kennzahlen/frauenanteile-in-den-unternehmen.html?L=0 March 6, 2012. http://dip.bundestag.de/btd/17/088/1708878.pdf [December 20, 2012].