Although women in Germany earn on average almost a fifth less per hour than men, on the boardrooms of DAX companies they are ahead in terms of salary. However, they are still much less frequently represented there – and the men are also catching up on the pay gap.
Women are in the minority on the top floors of German companies, but according to a study they are ahead in terms of salary. “The proportion of women on the board is only growing slowly. But at least women are ahead in terms of remuneration,” analyzed Jens Massmann, partner at the auditing and consulting company EY. The salary advantage of top female managers shrank last year, however, because men’s earnings rose more quickly than women’s.
According to EY, women in the top floors of the 160 companies in the DAX family earned an average of 2.4 million euros last year, 348,000 euros more than their male board colleagues. A year earlier, female executives had earned an average of 421,000 euros more. According to Massmann, highly qualified top managers continue to have a very good negotiating position. Since suitable female candidates are scarce, their market value and thus their remuneration increase.
According to the Federal Statistical Office, women in Germany earned an average of 18 percent less per hour than men last year. Most of the difference has structural reasons: for example, women work more often than men in sectors and professions in which the pay is lower and in which they are less likely to attain managerial positions. In addition, more women than men have part-time jobs or mini-jobs.
In the top German stock exchange league, the DAX with 40 companies, female board members earned an average of 3.45 million euros and thus 80,000 euros more than their colleagues, who came to 3.37 million euros. According to EY, women are most strongly represented on the Dax boards.
In the 70 smaller companies in the SDAX, female executives earned an average of 1.16 million euros, around 18 percent more than their board colleagues. In the MDAX, which includes 50 medium-sized listed companies, men were ahead with 1.49 million euros. Her colleagues earned an average of 1.4 million euros.
Overall, the salaries of the board members – not including the chairpersons – in the 160 companies surveyed rose by an average of 24 percent to 2.4 million euros. The earnings of the CEOs increased by 23 percent to around 3.3 million euros. The evaluation only takes into account board members who were in office for the whole year. The total direct remuneration made up of fixed salary and variable components was analyzed for 52 women and 314 men. CEOs are left out when comparing compensation, as there are still very few women managers at the top of the board.
