“Voluntary measures have little effect; only fixed #quotas work,” stated Family Minister Franziska Giffey and Justice Minister Christine Lambrecht in light of new reports on the development of the proportion of women in leadership positions.

The proportion of women on company boards has increased from 6.3% in 2015 to 7.7% in the 2017 fiscal year. However, 80% of companies have no women on their boards.

About 70% of the companies that set target quotas for their boards reported a target quota of zero percent.

Companies should not overlook the signal that a 0% target sends in #recruiting.

  • “Companies need to address gender inequality the way they would tackle any business problem: with data,” writes the Harvard Business Review.

  • A study by #IrisBohnet from the Harvard Kennedy School shows that considering candidates in groups helped managers compare individuals based on performance. However, when managers evaluated candidates individually, they resorted to gender-specific heuristics. The result was poorer hiring decisions and more gender-biased choices.

The question is: Are companies really willing and able to easily forgo such talent?

herVIEW - Natascha Hoffner

Posted by Natascha Hoffner, Founder & CEO of herCAREER, WiWo columnist, LinkedIn TOP Voice 2020, W&V 2019 – 100 Köpfe
published on LinkedIn on 20.06.2020