Beyond Gender Agenda: IM Chair examines the status quo of diversity in German companies
Are companies recognizing the advantage of diversity at work? How diverse are German companies on their top management level? The German Diversity Monitor 2020, under the scientific direction of Prof. Schmidt, sheds light on these questions.
Beyond Gender Agenda promotes diversity in business
Beyond Gender Agenda is an initiative founded by Victoria Wagner. It aims to promote diversity and inclusion in German companies to ensure long-term success and international competitiveness. Prof. Dr. Susanne Schmidt is a member of the renowned advisory board and states: “Diversity drives innovation. Managers must recognize its potential and create inclusive work environments.”
The German Diversity Monitor 2020 is the first study of the Beyond Gender Agenda to report the status quo of diversity in German companies’ executive boards. It serves as a reference for the upcoming years. Together with her PhD students Marie-Luise Penter and Sarah-Alena Rössig, Prof. Schmidt examined 160 publicly listed and middle-sized German companies.
Still a long way to go
The study results show that it is still a long way to reaching a satisfying level of diversity. The share of women in the top management of DAX30, MDAX, and SDAX companies is only 10%. Two-thirds of the executive boards only consist of men. The same holds for age diversity: “The majority of companies only have a low level of age diversity in their top management. Therefore, an exchange of various perspectives held by different generations cannot take place”, says Prof. Schmidt.
Yet, most companies do not acknowledge the full potential of diversity. Moreover, they lack a thorough understanding of the profundity of diversity. Diversity includes not only gender and cultural background, but also covers age, disability, and LGBT+. Those chapters are often neglected, so that data is only rarely available.
Diversity must become a top priority
Prof. Schmidt explains: “The benefits of diversity for a company’s success must be made measurable via Key Performance Indicators (KPI) and targeted data management to ensure long-term progression.”
Understanding the importance of diversity across all its different chapters must be given a top priority. Acknowledging its impact on business performance is the prerequisite for developing and implementing constructive measurements. These measurements will then help to spend diversity budgets efficiently to create an inclusive work environment on all company levels.
This topic caught your interest? Check out the results of the German Diversity Monitor 2020 here and read the full article on Handelsblatt (both in German only).