Germany firms ‘volunteer’ for gender quotas before being forced

FullComment/National Post.com
Oct 17, 2011 – 1:12 PM ET

Germany looks to be heading firmly down the road to affirmative action for women. German corporations, fearing they’ll be forced to meet quotas for women executives, are working towards “voluntary” measures instead.
Speigel online reports:
Representatives of the 30 firms that comprise Germany’s DAX stock index of blue-chip companies met in Berlin on Monday to propose their targets for promoting women into senior executive positions. Under the proposal, the companies plan to voluntarily increase the number of women on their top floors — reaching up to 35 percent by 2020.
With this, the companies are seeking to avoid legislation that might legally force them to address the gender gap, a problem that has become the subject of increasing political pressure in recent months.

Full Story: http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2011/10/17/germany-firms-volunteer-for-gender-quotas-before-being-forced/