A new German law has ordered leading companies to have at least 30 percent women on their supervisory boards starting in 2016, Chancellor Angela Merkel said Wednesday, adding that a bill will be put forth to the Cabinet on Dec. 11.
Under the new directive the government coalition has adopted, firms that have not implemented a quota of female directors will now have to leave some unoccupied vacancies, the Associated Press reported. Currently, women hold just 22 percent of non-executive positions and six percent of management posts on the boards of companies listed in Germany's benchmark DAX 30 index, according to Economy Ministry figures.
"This law is an important step for equality because it will initiate cultural change in the workplace," Chancellor Angela Merkel, who initially was against the reforms, told parliament on Wednesday.
Beginning in 2016, the new plan the leaders of Germany's Social Democrats and Merkel's conservative bloc established at a late-night meeting Tuesday, will affect 100 listed companies, with another 3,500 firms having to publish gender-equality targets in the future, according to BBC News.
If any company fails to recruit the required percent of women to non-executive boardroom posts, they will be barred from giving vacant seats to men.
"It has been decided and it is coming. We can't afford to do without the skills of women," Merkel said.
More than 80 percent of German boardroom positions are occupied by men, Deutsche Welle reported, even though roughly 40 percent of the federal cabinet is female.
On Wednesday, Women's Affairs Minister Manuela Schwesig told public radio that she did not expect many positions to go unfilled because of a shortage of female candidates.
"There are enough women who are qualified to do these very important jobs," she said.
However, the legislation, which has also been introduced in Norway, Italy and the Netherlands, has been criticized by some leading German business people.
A quota system would prove to be counterproductive, German Industries Federation chief Ulrich Grillo said, arguing that voluntary schemes were far more effective in getting more women into top jobs.
