Germany introduces a statutory minimum quota for female
representatives on supervisory boards of co-determined (50/50),
listed companies. In addition, the new law obligates numerous
companies to observe rules regarding the composition of their
supervisory boards and leadership positions. On 6 March 2015
the German parliament (Bundestag) passed the "Act on Equal
Participation of Women and Men regarding Leadership Positions
within the Sectors of Private Economy and Public Service"
("Gesetz für die gleichberechtigte Teilhabe von Frauen
und Männern an Führungspositionen in der Privatwirtschaft
und im öffentlichen Dienst").
The Act introduces a legally binding quota in Germany for the
first time. At least 30% of the members of supervisory boards of
publicly listed companies with 50/50 co-determined supervisory
boards, i.e. supervisory boards in which half of the members are
employee representatives, will need to be female.
Additionally, both, publicly listed companies and companies that
have co-determined supervisory boards — either as 50/50
co-determined boards or as third-participation boards — will
have to set their own targets for the composition of the managing
board, the supervisory board and leadership positions. These
targets, deadlines and information on target achievement, plus the
reasons for any failure, have to be publicly disclosed.
These rules also apply to European Stock Corporations (Societas
Europaea - SE) whose supervisory or administrative board has equal
representation of shareholder and employee representatives due to
the applicable co-determination agreement or applicable laws.
Fixed Quota Requirement
The fixed 30% quota for supervisory boards of publicly listed
companies that have a 50/50 co-determined supervisory board
generally must be met by the supervisory board as a body (Joint
Fulfillment). It therefore does not matter whether the shareholder
and employee representatives reach the quota individually as long
as the overall proportion of women reaches 30% or more. However,
both sides can object against the system of Joint Fulfillment prior
to every election of the supervisory board. If one side exercises
this right, both sides, the shareholder and the employee
representatives, need to achieve the 30% quota separately (Separate
Fulfillment).
The quota comes into force and must be observed for new
supervisory board positions from 1 January 2016. In order to
enforce the obligation to comply with the quota, the Act contains a
so-called "empty chair" doctrine. Under this doctrine, an
election that violates the quota will be deemed null and void and
the relevant seats will remain vacant. In case of an election of
individual supervisory board members in a shareholders'
meeting, the chronological order of the elections shall decide for
which elected member the election is null and void. If the
supervisory board is elected as a whole, the entire election will
be deemed void with respect to the gender which is overrepresented;
the election of candidates of the underrepresented gender, however,
is valid. The chairman of the general meeting will not have the
right to put a nomination to vote which, if successful, would not
be in line with the quota.
As regards the employee representatives, new provisions will be
introduced to the German Co-Determination Act concerning a special
quota requirement of employee and trade union representatives in
case of Separate Fulfillment. In this regard, an "empty
chair" doctrine will also apply. This "empty chair"
can then be filled by judicial appointment.
Equality Concept for Managers and Managerial Staff
Publicly listed companies and companies that are subject to (parity and one-third) co-determination must give themselves rules for a concept of equal participation within leading positions. According to estimates of the Federal Ministries involved, about 3,500 large and medium sized companies are affected.
Scope of Application and Responsibility
Targets for quotas have to be determined for legal representative bodies, supervisory boards and the two top management levels below executive management. The management board, respectively the managing directors, have to set quota targets for the upper management. The supervisory board or, in one-third co-determined companies the shareholders' meeting is responsible for the determination of quota targets for the supervisory board (unless the fixed quota applies) and for the management board, respectively for the managing directors.
Targets and Deadlines
A minimum quota regarding the proportion of women has not been
defined by the Act. However, the Act aims for equal representation
and intends to avoid a decline in the status quo. Therefore, if, by
the time the targets are set, the actual proportion of women on the
relevant hierarchy levels is less than 30%, the targets set must
not fall below the current proportion. If the proportion of women
on the relevant hierarchy levels is more than 30% by the time the
targets are determined, the set targets may also be lower than the
quota that has already been reached.
The obligation to set targets will be triggered on the day the Act
comes into force. First targets must be set by 30 September
2015, with a deadline to reach these targets no later than
30 June 2017. Subsequent deadlines must not exceed a period of
five years.
Publication Obligation
Targets and deadlines must be published in the management report (Lagebericht). This also applies to information as to whether targets have been met and, in case of failure, reasons for failure. Companies that are not under a statutory obligation to publish a management report must publish this information on their websites. Information on target achievement must be published after the relevant deadline has expired.
Consequences of Missed Targets or Breach of Publication Requirements
The Act does not stipulate any sanctions where targets are not
reached. However, if targets are not met, the company must publish
clear information about its efforts to reach the targets and the
reasons why the targets have been failed. This approach shall
incentivize companies to set high targets under public awareness
and avoid that companies set low targets in view of severe
sanctions.
Inaccurate or incomplete information in status reports may qualify
as a misdemeanor for which a fine of up to EUR 50,000.00 may
be imposed.
Practical Consequences
The current composition of supervisory boards is not affected by
the new quota requirements. In relation to future elections,
companies must ensure that the fixed quota will be gradually
achieved from 1 January 2016. Replacements must be made with
representatives of the underrepresented gender until the fixed
quota is met.
With regard to the provisions on the concept of equal
participation, affected companies, in a first step, need to analyze
the status quo on their boards and management. Thereafter,
management and supervisory board (or shareholders' meeting)
need to agree on and set quota targets. These targets will
obviously be different in different industries.
For companies that do not reach the 30% quota on a relevant
hierarchy level, the status quo sets the minimum threshold. We
recommend that affected companies start looking into these issues
as soon as possible. The self-imposed targets should be realistic
in order for companies to be able to achieve them within the first
two years.
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