Kienbaum, ESCP and Flick Gocke Schaumburg report on evaluation of equal participation act

Advisors from Kienbaum, ESCP and Flick Gocke Schaumburg have teamed up to evaluate the German Act on Equal Participation of Women and Men in Leadership Positions in the Private and the Public Sectors (German abbreviation: FüPoG) on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth. Their independent evaluation report was published on November 18, 2020, at the same time as a statement by the federal government on the act’s effectiveness.

The FüPoG, which came into force in May 2015, aims to significantly raise the number of women in executive positions and, in the long term, to achieve gender parity in corporate governance. The evaluation assessed how well the legal obligations have been accepted, how effective they have been, and their actual impact on the proportions of men and women in executive positions.

According to the evaluation, the fixed quota of 30 percent of women on supervisory boards as stipulated by the FüPoG is having an effect. It has already contributed to a significant rise in the proportion of women on supervisory boards. On boards of directors, which are not subject to fixed quotas, the increase in the proportion of women has been smaller. This restrained trend shown by boards of directors is reflected in their targets: three-quarters of corporations report they have not set a target for women to be appointed to their board of directors, or that their target is zero. Positive developments were found in the promotion of equality at federal government agencies, with a greater representation of women on committees and at senior levels, as well as the expansion of programs in this area.      

“The evaluation of the FüPoG is highly significant,” explains Tobias Nießen, head of the labor and employment law practice at Flick Gocke Schaumburg. “The federal government has commented on the report, in particular its recommendations, and announced that it will take them into account in future measures.”

The evaluation report can be downloaded here: www.bmfsfj.de/evaluation-füpog

Working on the evaluation for Flick Gocke Schaumburg were:

Tobias Nießen, Ursula Neuhoff (both labor and employment law, Bonn)