New schillingreport shows: Proportion of Women on Swiss Executive Boards Declines Again

The latest schillingreport figures make it clear that the private sector must continue to pay close attention to the gender diversity pipeline. "In everyday life, I increasingly experience that women and men want to share family work. Men's demands for modern working time models are also becoming increasingly noticeable. It is becoming natural for both women and men to pursue careers. This will have an impact on the gender diversity pipeline and thus on the development of the proportion of women at all levels," says Guido Schilling. However, it is not only the proportion of women on the executive boards that is declining, but also that of foreign managers. Their share is falling from 45 % to 44 %. The proportion of foreigners among the newcomers is 38 %, down from 64 % last year. "If the baby boomers leave the labor market in ten years and neither enough women nor foreign managers are available as talent, we face an acute shortage of managers at the top of companies," says Schilling.

Gender diversity in management remains a generational project

Among the new Executive Board members, only 8 % are women, a major setback after last year's record 21 %. 11 women have left the executive boards, only 9 have moved up. This results in a decrease in the proportion of women in the overall sample from 8 % to 7 %. A closer look reveals that 59 % of the companies surveyed do not currently employ any women on their management boards. While 67 % of the new men have advanced to management within the company, only 22 % of the women have done so. "I remain convinced that better gender mix is a generational project. Companies are investing in sustainable programs that enable both genders to balance family and career. This is an increasingly important element of employer attractiveness and will lead to a broader gender diversity pipeline. I am sure that we will see the first measurable effects as early as 5 years from now," says Schilling.

Proportion of women on boards of directors on a promising path - but greater efforts still needed

There are 25 % women among the new board members, an increase from 17 % to 19 %. "This is positive, but the efforts are not enough. In the coming years, the business community must increase the percentage of women on the board of directors by at least 3 percentage points annually to meet the policy demands of 30 % by 2022," says Schilling. He continues, "It is necessary for companies to set clear targets, define measures and monitor the impact. Business and politics must realize that on average, a board of directors is in office for more than 10 years before it steps down. Any renewal must therefore aim to invite women, in particular, into the nomination process alongside men. If the business community pursues this consistently, I believe the goal of 30 % female board members is achievable within the required timeframe."

Comparison of SMI and DAX - women's quota in Germany shows effect

Since 2016, listed companies in Germany have been obliged to have a quota of women on their supervisory boards. Accordingly, the proportion of women on DAX supervisory boards is also significantly higher at 32 % (30 % in the previous year) than on SMI boards at 23 % (21 % in the previous year). The proportion of women among the newcomers is 48 % in the DAX and 30 % in the SMI. The proportion of women on the DAX Executive Board climbed from 10 % to 13 %, while the proportion of women among the newcomers was 30 %. In the SMI, the proportion of women is still significantly lower. There are 10 % female managers among the newcomers, which is why the proportion of women on SMI executive boards only rises from 8 % to 9 %.

Public sector demonstrates what politics demands of business

The public sector is developing encouragingly with 16 % (14 % in the previous year) female top cadres. This results thanks to 27 % women among the newcomers. What does the public sector do better than the private sector? "The public sector offers the right framework conditions such as sensible working time models and more regulated working hours, which promotes the compatibility of family and career. At the same time, it benefits from a broader gender diversity pipeline than the private sector," says Schilling. Permeability between the private and public sectors continues to increase: 49 % (47 % in the previous year) of top executives have professional experience from the private sector.

Gender Diversity Pipeline

For the gender diversity pipeline of the schillingreport 2017, 113 of the 250 most important Swiss companies provided their data. These figures will be collected every two years, the next time in 2019. In this sample, there are 10 % women in the private sector on executive boards, 14 % in top management and 21 % in middle management. These women form the pipeline for future top positions. The Public Sector has a broader gender diversity pipeline with 22 % women in top mana- gement and 24 % in middle management. The 2018 schillingreport covers Switzerland's 118 largest employers, as well as the federal government and all 26 cantons. Accordingly, 882 executive directors, 816 board members, and 1034 public sector executives (heads of offices, secretaries general, secretaries general, and secretaries of state) were included in the survey.

www.schillingreport.ch