Myth or Reality? Boardroom Diversity in German Blue Chip Companies
20 Pages Posted: 9 Oct 2012
Date Written: February 13, 2012
Abstract
As the question of boardroom diversity gains increasing attention both in the media and the academic world, this paper offers a comprehensive analysis of the evolution of boardroom composition of German Dax 30 corporations over a period of 10 years (2001-2010). In contrast to public opinion, results show that supervisory boards of German blue chip companies are light-years away from being considered as diversified. Both the proportions of female and foreign board members remain on a very low level. Furthermore, some national particularities such as widespread multiple board appointments, supervisory boards which are chaired by erstwhile firm managers or similar socio-educational backgrounds of current chairmen seem to be rather the rule than the exception. Whereas an increasing activity of board subcommittees can be observed, supervisory boards themselves hardly change their activity over time with respect to team size or meeting frequencies.
Keywords: Board diversity, supervisory board composition, corporate governance
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