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Government to meet with DAX firms over women execs

The federal government is planning a meeting with human resources directors from Germany's 30 DAX companies to tackle the issue of an absence of women in top management jobs, according to a newspaper report.

Published: 8 March 2011 07:41 CET

Government to meet with DAX firms over women execs

photo: DPA

The meeting, according to the Tuesday edition of the daily Passauer Neue Presse, will be held on March 30 and aims to find ways to increase the number of female executives without resorting to a legally binding quota.

The event will be hosted by Family Minister Kristina Schröder, Labour Minister Ursula von der Leyen, both of the Christian Democratic Party, as well as Economy Minister Rainer Brüderle and Justice Minister Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger of the Free Democrats.

Tuesday is the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day and both the Social Democrats and the Greens have used the event to criticize the low number of women in Germany’s top jobs and call again for a mandatory quota.

The DGB labour union association said it was shameful that only 9.4 percent of Germany’s supervisory boards and 3 percent of its executive boards are made up of women.

Over the weekend, Chancellor Angela Merkel called for the government to work with industry to increase the presence of women in executive suites.

“Germany trails badly in global comparisons when it comes to the number of women in leading positions in the private sector, especially in big companies,” she said.

However, Merkel has come out against a mandatory quota, saying the government still wanted to give companies the opportunity to improve the situation on their own.

The survey last month conducted by daily Berliner Zeitung indicated that 21 of the 30 DAX corporations reject the idea of a quota.

Only the Munich-based insurance giant Allianz came out tentatively in favour of a mandatory quota. Eight DAX corporations declined to take a position on the debate, while the rest said they were opposed.

DAPD/kdj

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Which Bavaria-based companies regularly hire English speakers?

Munich ranks third in German cities with the highest total GDP, behind Berlin and Hamburg, but in terms of GDP per capita, it’s higher than both of them.

It also consistently ranks high, often highest, in terms of average household income.

As of 2023, nine of the 40 companies listed on DAX, Germany’s stock index, were based in Bavaria. Seven of those are based specifically in Munich.

While Frankfurt is commonly known to be Germany’s business capital, Munich can claim the title of Germany’s insurance capital, which is saying something, as Germany is home to some of the largest insurance firms in the world, like Allianz.

Beyond the state’s capital city, a number of international companies are based elsewhere in Bavaria, particularly in the Franken region, near Nuremberg.

Which companies actively hire English speakers?

Bavaria, and Munich in particular, is home to a number of companies at the forefront of international business. But the state is known for its traditional, sometimes conservative, culture, which affects its business culture as well.

Whereas companies embracing English as their primary business language are easy to find in Berlin, the practice is less common in the south. That said, there are some notable exceptions.

Sportswear giants, Adidas and Puma, both have their headquarters near Nuremberg in Herzogenaurach, and regularly recruit English speaking international talent.

“As an international company, our teams reflect the rich diversity of our consumers and communities,” Jon Greenhalgh, Senior Manager Media Relations for Adidas told The Local. “Fostering a culture of inclusion where we value and leverage differences, ensures that we can authentically engage with our employees and truly connect with our consumers.”

He added that around 40 per cent of Adidas’ Germany-based employees are foreign nationals, from over 100 different countries.

Siemens and BMW rank among Bavaria’s top employers, and are also known to hire their fair share of foreigners.

“In Germany, we recently had around 2,000 open positions,” Konstanze Somborn told The Local on behalf of Siemens AG.

He added that Siemens operates in 190 countries. “That is why we value international teams very much…English as a common language is very usual.”

READ ALSO: ‘Which German companies want to hire foreigners?’

Similarly, BMW hires workers from a variety of backgrounds.

“Every year, we hire lots of internationals and welcome them to the BMW Group,” Dr. Hans-Peter Ketterl, a press spokesman for BMW Group told The Local.

But not all of these positions are available to non-German speakers.

Ketterl added that BMW’s working language is German in the country, even though, “English is an indispensable entry requirement as the second corporate language in many areas of the company.”

Check job boards and follow best practices

If it’s your first time applying for jobs in Germany, make sure to change your resume to the German format, even for English positions.

While Germany is home to its own job boards, like Xing, LinkedIn is probably the best place to start. In addition to searching for positions based in your preferred location, you can check relevant groups, like Munich Startups, to broaden your horizons.

The English Jobs in Germany website is also a good resource to start with.

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