Board Gender Quotas in Germany and the EU: An Appropriate Way of Equalising the Participation of Women and Men

This article compares different ways of incorporating gender quotas into the existing legal systems of various European countries. The author notes that European companies have been given increasing responsibility for the realization of the sociopolitical goal of gender equality in the workplace. A brief description of the advantages and disadvantages of quotas on women in managerial roles is provided. The author then discusses the current legislation in various European countries, especially Germany and Scandinavia. He considers the hurdles in constitutional and European law of implementing gender quotas. Finally, the author proposes that for professional and economic gender equality to exist, comprehensive family- related political reforms for all genders will be necessary.