CSU: Markus Söder for women's quota in Dax boards

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Markus Söder: "I think we have to send out a signal"

Photo: Sven Hoppe / dpa

Anyone who advocates a quota for women on boards of Dax companies now has one more prominent comrade-in-arms: the Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU).

"I am in favor of the women's quota. By the way, I am also in favor - I say this very clearly here - that with the laws that are now being made in Berlin with board members, that we are now giving each other a push again and that it is sensible have to implement ", he said at a digital event of" Zeit "on Tuesday evening, according to the newspaper.

The argument that you could "not dictate whether there is a woman on a DAX board" did not convince him, said the CSU boss.

"There are highly qualified men and women in our country and just as many women as men who can easily do these jobs. So that doesn't convince me. I think we have to send out a signal because it's also a role model for the many young women in our country. "

SPD parliamentary group: "Our proposals are on the table"

The deputy chairman of the SPD parliamentary group, Katja Mast, welcomed Söder's statements.

"Finally, CSU boss Markus Söder has also realized that nothing is moving voluntarily in the supervisory boards and executive boards," said Mast according to a message.

"Over 90 percent of the board members are male. In an international comparison, Germany is far behind. Our proposals are on the table."

In the coalition agreement, the Union and the SPD agreed to improve the law on women in management positions.

After differences, the heads of the coalition decided to set up a working group in the summer.

At the beginning of the year, Federal Women's Minister Franziska Giffey and Justice Minister Christine Lambrecht (both SPD) presented a draft law.

Accordingly, the expansion of the quota of women on supervisory boards is planned and a requirement that in the future, a woman should move up to purely male company boards with at least four members if a place becomes available.

However, the departmental vote showed that there was no approval from the Union-led departments, Giffey said in the summer.

Almost every third supervisory board position in the 188 largest listed German companies was recently occupied by a woman, according to an evaluation by the organization "Women on the Supervisory Board".

Men dominated the executive boards with almost 90 percent.

The Dax is the most important German share index.

The 30 companies represented in it represent the majority of the market capitalization of listed stock corporations in Germany.

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mes / dpa