Equality: AllBright study shows more women on Dax executive boards

The AllBright study confirms a record proportion of women on DAX executive boards. Germany is thus catching up internationally with the USA and ending the dominance of male recruitment patterns. While financial service providers are seeing gains, the automotive industry lags behind. Diversity is becoming the standard.

Equality: AllBright Study Shows More Women on DAX Boards

The German economy is recording significant progress in the appointment of women to leadership positions. According to the latest study by the AllBright Foundation dated October 28, 2026, the proportion of women on the executive boards of the 40 DAX companies has reached a new record high. In an international comparison, Germany is thus managing to catch up with nations such as the USA, Great Britain, or France, which were considered role models for years. A key driver of this development is the cultural change within supervisory bodies, as well as increasing pressure from investors and regulatory requirements for diversity at the top management level.

Particularly striking is the end of a long-standing phenomenon in German corporate culture. The so-called "predominance of the Thomases" has effectively been broken. For years, there were more men named Thomas or Christian on German executive boards than women in total. Current data now proves that recruitment patterns have fundamentally diversified. When filling new positions, companies are increasingly relying on mixed teams, while professional excellence and international experience remain the core criteria. Nevertheless, the study shows clear sectoral differences. While consumer goods manufacturers and financial service providers were able to increase their quotas, the automotive industry—central to Germany—continues to lag noticeably behind in terms of the proportion of women on executive boards.

For aspiring executives and those interested in an MBA, this development offers a changed starting point. The demand for qualified women for top management is steadily increasing, which is also reflected in the admission statistics of leading business schools. Many MBA programs have already aligned their curricula with diversity management and inclusive leadership. The study illustrates that an academic background with a management focus is increasingly acting as a catalyst for female careers. Nevertheless, the challenge remains to consistently fill the pipeline of female talent at the middle management level so that the composition of executive boards does not remain an isolated phenomenon at the top end of the hierarchy.

Challenges in the Automotive Industry

Despite the positive overall trend, the automotive industry remains the problem child of equality. Here, structures are often still dominated by traditional, male-dominated networks. The AllBright study points out that the lack of women on the executive boards of automobile manufacturers and suppliers could lead to a competitive disadvantage in the long term. In times of transformation toward electromobility and digitized mobility services, a diversity of perspectives is crucial for reaching new customer groups and developing innovative business models. Experts see an urgent need for action here in the targeted promotion of women in STEM subjects combined with additional qualifications in economics.