Economy Age, education, first name
More Thomas than women? This is Germany’s average board
Status: 27.06.2023 | Reading time: 3 minutes
People with the name Thomas are over-represented on the boards of the large listed companies in this country. men anyway
Credit: pa/SvenSimon/Anke Waelischmiller/SVEN SIMON
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SAP, Volkswagen, Munich Re – they all have a Thomas in the top committee. A study now shows that men with this first name actually have a disproportionately good chance of getting a top job. But other characteristics also increase career opportunities.
Nomen est omen, so the saying goes, so the name precedes the reputation. And that could possibly be the case with your career, too. It’s especially good there if your name is Thomas. According to a study by the Allbright Foundation, this is the name that is most frequently represented on company boards.
But of course the name is not the only criterion when it comes to the statistical chance of a position as a board member. The foundation, which is primarily committed to more women in top positions, evaluated various characteristics when determining the average board member. Because there are overlaps not only in terms of name, but also in terms of professional background, school education or origin.
The analysis shows: 93 percent in the top company floors are men, the board members are on average 55 years old and there is a 34 percent chance that they have completed an apprenticeship abroad. After all, 74 percent of the top positions in the Dax, MDax, SDax and TechDax are occupied by Germans.
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The development is also exciting when it comes to the acquisition of new candidates for board positions. Among the new board members, only 13 percent were non-engineers and non-economists. In comparison with figures from the stock, where at least 24 percent who do not come from these industries worked.
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Recognizable development: compared to the existing values, newly hired employees are not necessarily getting younger, but are increasingly coming from other countries and international education is also playing an increasingly important role.
Allbright, who primarily want to express criticism with their study, forecasts a period of about 40 years just for achieving parity, i.e. an equal proportion of men and women on the board, at the current rate of change.
Three times Thomas on the VW board
When it comes to filling the posts, however, this could mean that women in particular have better chances. Because companies are looking for women and only find suitable candidates to a limited extent.
The term “Thomas cycle” has now become established among industry observers. Accordingly, bosses with a corresponding name also preferred to promote other colleagues with that name. And thus ensured a constant supply.
Example Volkswagen: The group caused a stir last year because two men with the name Thomas, but only one woman worked on the group board. What has changed in the meantime? There are now three members who go by the name Thomas.
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Anyone aiming for a career abroad is well advised to use the name or the local variants of it, according to Allbright, especially in Sweden (fifth place among the most common board names) and Poland (second place). In contrast, John leads the list in the US, David in the UK and Olivier in France.
In Germany, Michaels and Stefans also have a good chance of getting the best positions. These names rank second and third in board frequency. And the Christians are good too – that’s the name of most CEOs.
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