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The agreement to introduce a women’s quota has been criticized by the economic wing of the Union. Coalition partner SPD defended the move. Compromises wouldn’t work.
The agreement to introduce a quota of women on the boards of directors of publicly traded companies with equitable participation has received strong criticism from the parliamentary group of the Union. “We need a stop sign not to challenge the free market social economy through even greater regulation,” said deputy head of the SME parliamentary group Hans Michelbach (CSU) of the “Saarbrücker Zeitung”. “That is why we will do everything possible to avoid this directory fee.”
It is to be feared that the requirement is just a back door, “through which the quota will be extended to more and more companies,” Michelbach said. In the end, medium-sized companies are also affected, and not only large corporations. “The Union has already sacrificed too many basic positions to a fickle zeitgeist,” Michelbach said.
“Diverse teams are more successful”
The deputy leader of the SPD parliamentary group, Katja Mast, defended the plan: “Companies with diverse teams are more successful than others, this has been proven by numerous studies,” said Mast. “Therefore, what we have decided is not a burden, but a real economic development.” Mast criticized: “For us as SPD, it could have been faster, the brakes always came from the ranks of the CDU and CSU.” That is clear once again through Michelbach’s statements. “I’m not concerned with these personal sensitivities of individuals. We don’t have to worry about all of them,” Mast said. Because too many top women have been waiting too long.
SPD Secretary General Lars Klingbeil called Michelbach’s remarks “shameful”. “Women are not a drag on a company, they are an asset,” Klingbeil said. “And a fee is not a dilemma either, but a necessity for Germany to remain a successful business location.”
“Just embarrassing”
The coalition working group for more women in the highest positions had previously agreed to a compromise. According to this, the directors of listed companies with equal participation and with more than three members must appoint at least one woman. The current members of the board will apparently receive vested rights.
The president of the German Trade Union Federation (DGB), Reiner Hoffmann, said that the coalition government’s agreement on a quota for women on executive boards was expired. “It is shameful to claim otherwise after years of seemingly ineffective trade engagements,” he said. “The economic wing of the Union should finally open their hearts to contemporary politics.”
BDI is skeptical
The agreement will be presented to the coalition leaders for a final decision in the next few days. The Federation of German Industries (BDI) expressed skepticism. “It’s a major invasion of corporate freedom,” said Iris Plöger, a member of the BDI board of directors. It is true that the BDI supports the objective of promoting the occupation of managerial positions with women. At the same time, however, he warned: “The tendency to always try to rectify socio-political imbalances through the economy and its companies must not become the rule.”
“Constitutionally questionable” quota of women
According to the Federal Association of German Employers’ Associations (BDA), a legal quota for hiring board members even intervenes in the corporate structure in “constitutionally questionable ways.” “If there are no suitable candidates or if they are not prepared to assume the corresponding position, a development desired by society and, above all, by companies cannot be required by law,” the BDA informed “Handelsblatt.”
According to the newspaper, the BDA supports the “objective of the political debate to have more diversity in the management of large companies.” “However, we doubt that all the proposed instruments are useful and effective.”
