Women at The Top : Women Hold Over 25% of Management Board Positions in the DAX 40 for the First Time

Russell Reynolds Associates continuously monitors the management board composition of German blue-chip companies listed in the DAX 40 prime stock index. Going into 2025, highlights from our analysis include:

• A historic milestone for DAX 40 boards: More than a quarter of executive board members in Germany’s blue-chip listed companies are now women, moving the German prime stock index up in the European gender diversity rankings.
  
  
• An equally visible milestone for DAX 40 CEOs: For the first time, 10% of these companies are led by women CEOs.
  
  
• Shorter tenures for women directors persist: Despite slowly increasing representation, two-thirds of women directors left their roles within three years, compared to only one-third of male directors. No woman had reached the age of 60 years upon leaving, while more than one-third of male directors had.
  
  
• Director turnover slows: In the face of economic challenges, DAX 40 management board turnover slowed throughout 2024.

A historic milestone for gender representation on DAX 40 boards

For the first time in the history of Germany’s DAX 40 stock index, women now hold over a quarter (25.7%) of management board positions in the country’s 40 largest publicly listed companies (Figure 1). This represents a two-percentage-point increase compared to 2024. Since 2020, the share of women in top management has risen from 13.3% to 25.4%, an unprecedented twelve-point gain.

Figure 1: Proportion of women board members on DAX 30/40 management boards (2012-Jan 2025)

^{Source: Russell Reynolds Associates Analysis 2025. Based on company communication and publicly available information | *The DAX 30 was expanded into DAX 40 in 2021, n = 257 DAX 40 board directors.}

This growth has propelled Germany’s DAX 40 into the top six European indices for gender diversity in leadership, alongside the UK, Norway, Sweden, France, and Finland (Figure 2).

Figure 2: Proportion of women management board members across Europe (2022 – 2024)

^{Source: Russell Reynolds Associates proprietary analysis for Germany and Switzerland, 2025. Data for all other countries is from: European Institute for Gender Equality (eige.europa.eu). Values in Q4 2024 for Germany and Switzerland; end of January of following year.}

Four women CEOs signal a shift at the executive top

For the first time, four DAX 40 companies are led by women CEOs. Long-time CEO Belén Garijo at Merck is now joined by Bettina Orlopp at Commerzbank, Karin Rådström at Daimler Truck, and Helen Giza at Fresenius Medical Care. Garijo had been the sole woman CEO of a DAX 40 company since 2021.

While we’re encouraged by this progress, there’s still work to do to achieve better gender representation in the CEO landscape in the DAX 40.

Two DAX 40 boards have achieved gender parity

Commerzbank and Siemens Healthineers now boast 50% women director representation on their management boards. Twelve DAX companies are comprised of at least one-third women, marking significant progress. Porsche SE remains the only DAX-listed company without a single woman in its management board, a notable contrast to two years ago when 20% of DAX companies had no women management board members.

The DAX 40 exceeded the 25% ‘women-on-boards’ threshold faster than many expected. Progress in appointing women to CEO roles underscores that this is not a ‘fair-weather’ topic, but a critical issue gaining momentum, even in economically challenging times.”

Jens-Thomas Pietralla
Co-head of Russell Reynolds Associates’ Global Board & CEO Practice 

Gender diversity by the sectors: Energy leads, automotive lags

Women board members are most strongly represented in the energy sector, holding 35.7% of these management board roles—a significant increase of 7.1pp since last year (Figure 3). This is followed by consumer goods (33.3%), insurance (33.3%), and financial services (30.4%).

Conversely, the automotive, chemicals and process industries lag significantly, with women holding less than 20% of the board roles in these industries.

Figure 3: Proportion of DAX 40 women management board members across sectors (January 2025)

^{Source: Russell Reynolds Associates proprietary analysis, 2025. * Driven by changes in index composition, n = 257 DAX 40 board directors.}

Women still face shorter tenures on boards

Despite these advances, the new analysis highlights persistent challenges. Women on executive management boards continue to face significantly shorter tenures than their male counterparts. On average, male board members remain in their roles longer and exit at an older age (58) compared to women (53).

Of the eight women who exited DAX management boards in 2024, six (over two-thirds) served for less than three years. By comparison, only a third of outgoing male executives left within the same timeframe. No woman had reached the age of 60 years upon leaving, while more than one-third of male directors had.

Board leadership turnover slows amid uncertainty

Contrary to trends in previous years, 2024 saw a decline in management board turnover across all DAX companies, regardless of gender. Economic uncertainty appears to have driven a preference for stability over reshuffles. “Businesses are moving away from the football-inspired ‘hire and fire’ mentality in response to economic difficulties, opting instead for continuity in leadership,” said Pietralla.

Diverse leadership sends a powerful signal both internally and externally. Boards must remain diligent in identifying and appointing capable female candidates for senior roles. However, the greater challenge lies in achieving balanced gender representation across all levels of leadership. Only then will gender-balanced executive management teams become both natural and sustainable.”

Jens-Thomas Pietralla
Co-head of Russell Reynolds Associates’ Global Board & CEO Practice

Authors

Jens-Thomas Pietralla co-leads Russell Reynolds Associates’ global Board & CEO Advisory practice and is the former leader of the firm’s Industrial and Natural Resources practice. He is based in Munich.

Philip Bacher is a senior member of Russell Reynolds Associates’ Board & CEO Advisory practice. He is based in Munich.