schillingreport 2023

Editorial

Despite the crises of previous years and the increased cadence of external events, the Swiss economy is booming. An extraordinarily diverse and innovative corporate landscape forms the backbone of the economy, while the political framework provides stability and enables companies to act nationally and internationally as strong partners. Due to our excellent education system, young people integrate early in working life and can continue to develop professionally and educationally throughout their lives. However, I am concerned about the exceptionally dry labour market and the resulting shortage of qualified labour and skilled professionals. Companies are facing increasing difficulties in meeting their staffing needs. Therefore, I am not surprised that among the hundred largest Swiss employers, the percentage of executive board members without a Swiss citizenship has risen to 47%, whereas previously it had stagnated at 44 to 45% for years. The record high percentage of foreigners of 56% among the newly appointed executive board members contributed significantly to this increase. An interesting fact is that almost two-thirds of the foreigners are so-called «nationals», i.e. they had already worked in Switzerland or in a Swiss company before taking on their current position. These «nationals» therefore already joined a Swiss employer in middle or senior management, whilst 37% of the foreign executive board members were appointed to their current executive board role without any connection to Switzerland.

The percentage of foreigners at SMI companies is 75%. 70% of the male executive board members do not hold Swiss citizenship, compared to 91% among the female members – an absolute record. In other words, only 4 out of 43 female executive board members in the 20 SMI companies hold Swiss citizenship. SMI companies operating in the global market benefit from the fact that in many countries there is a completely different self-image with regard to the compatibility of family and career. In recent years, they have been able to recruit outstandingly qualified female managers around the globe for their executive board teams.

In industrial countries, managers are becoming scarce. The Swiss economy has always been depending on top executives from all over the world as our economic strength has always been greater over the past hundred years than we could have met the demand for labour on our own. Currently we are benefiting from the fact that other European countries are economically less stable than Switzerland. But that can change rapidly. Thus, in Switzerland we must ensure that we remain attractive for foreign skilled professionals, because we depend on the world’s best managers to exploit the still existing potential of our economic strength to the maximum.

I am encouraged by the fact that the share of women in the Swiss economy is increasing across all organisational levels. This is shown by the survey of the gender diversity pipeline, which we conduct every two years. I am convinced that those companies with a broad gender diversity pipeline will be far better equipped to deal with the shortage of skilled professionals than those that invest little in the advancement of women. The fact that companies will reach the required gender guidelines of 20% in the executive board and 30% in the supervisory board next year should not distract from the fact that living diversity does not mean meeting a quota. It is rather about creating a culture in which women and men making up 40 to 60% of all management levels is the norm.

As usual, the data material of the schillingreport is supplemented by interviews with inspiring personalities from business and public administration. I wish you an inspiring read.

Yours faithfully, Guido Schilling

1 Executive Summary

For the first time, more than half (52%) of the 100 largest Swiss employers employ at least 3 women on the supervisory board, at the same time the share of companies with at least 3 women on the executive board rises to 20%. The number of female CEOs increases from 9 to 10 – and has already developed to 11 during the current year. At the same time, the number of female CFOs increases from 9 to 14. Thus 20% of companies employ a female CEO or CFO. 56% of the newly appointed executive board members do not hold Swiss citizenship – a record figure. The percentage of foreign executive board members climbs to an all-time high of 47%.

After years of stagnation, the percentage of foreign managers on the executive boards of the 100 largest Swiss employers is increasing again. Whereas in previous years it had levelled off at 45%, it is currently climbing to an all-time high of 47%. Decisive was that 56% of the newly appointed executive board members do not hold Swiss citizenship. The Swiss economy has always been depending on top executives from all over the world. In times of uncertainty and major political as well as economic challenges, the current figures clearly speak for Switzerland’s radiance and the stability of the economy. With low unemployment, relatively modest inflation and the economy still booming, Swiss companies need the world’s best managers to exploit the still existing potential of our value creation.

The 100 largest Swiss employers will reach the required gender guidelines of 30% on the supervisory board and 20% on the executive board in 2024. In the 18th edition of the schillingreport, they are at 29% females on the supervisory board and 19% on the executive board. On the supervisory boards, the share of females rises for the first time by 3 percentage points to 29%, as 46% of vacancies have been filled with women – a record. On executive boards, the share of women increases from 17% to 19%, thanks to 27% of women among the newly appointed managers – the second highest figure in 18 years.

Unprecedented Positive Development of Share of Women in SMI Companies
In the SMI companies, the share of women on the supervisory board increases by 4 percentage points to 34%. Possible made this as SMI companies appointed women to 54% of vacancies – an absolute record. In terms of gender diversity, the SMI companies have clearly reached the acceptance phase and are consistently relying on the advantages of diverse management teams. Compared to the companies listed in the German DAX, which appointed women for 46% of vacancies and thus stand at a share of women on the supervisory boards of 37% (+ 2 percentage points), the dynamics in the SMI companies are clearly more positive, and it is likely that already in the next two years the SMI companies will overtake or catch up with those of the DAX. This is underlined by the development on the executive boards. Over the past two years, the SMI companies have achieved a leap of 10 percentage points from 14% in 2021 to currently 24% of female executive board members. This further increases their lead over the DAX boards, where the share of women is rising from 18% to 22%, thus meeting the required German quota. All 40 DAX companies employ women on their supervisory boards, while 6 executive boards (previous year 8) count no women. All 20 SMI companies have women on the supervisory board, although 2 do not yet count any female executive board members (previous year 3).

Foreign Managers Are Key to Swiss Economy
Companies employ 47% foreign executive board members and appointed foreign managers for 56% of vacancies – both all-time highs. The foreign executive board members stem from 39 countries (previous year 30). 63% of the foreign executive board members had already worked in Switzerland or in a Swiss company before taking on their current position. These «nationals» therefore already joined a Swiss employer in middle or senior management, whilst 37% of the foreign executive board members (17% of the overall sample) came to their current role without any connection to Switzerland. Among the new executive board members, 54% are «nationals». This means that for 46% of vacancies, Swiss companies recruited the executive board members directly from abroad. Broken down by gender, one can see that the percentage of foreigners among female executive board members (54%) is significantly higher than among male executive board members (45%). The difference of 59% female to 64% male «nationals» is remarkable.

The SMI is far more international: 75% of SMI executive board members do not hold Swiss citizenship, with 65% of these being «nationals». Currently 85% of the new executive board members come from abroad. It is striking that 91% of the female SMI executive board members are foreigners, the highest figure to date. 54% of them are «nationals».

Public Sector Meets Own Guidelines and Remains on Track
In the public sector, the share of women in top executive positions rises to 24% (previous year 23%). One third (33%) of vacancies were filled by women. Looking at the Federal Administration separately from the cantons, the share of women in top executive positions remains at 38%, although the Federal Administration filled 50% of vacancies with women for the fourth time in a row.

Further Broadening of the Gender Diversity Pipeline
The key indicator to anticipate future trends in the representation of women on executive boards/in top management is the gender diversity pipeline. In the sample of the private sector, the share of women in middle management increased to 27% (previous year 25%) and in top management to 19% (previous year 18%). Companies are succeeding in promoting women at all organisational levels, as this ensures a strong young generation for the step into the executive boards. Nevertheless, a sustainable broad gender mix on the executive board remains a generational project. The pipeline is broader in the public sector, which continues to show a share of women of 29% in both middle and top management.

2 Introduction

For 18 years now, guido schilling ag has collected data on the composition of the executive and supervisory boards of the 100 largest Swiss companies. Seven years ago, we began looking at the public sector, analysing the top management of all 26 cantons and the federal administration. In addition, guido schilling ag makes a request every 2 years for the 250 largest Swiss companies to disclose their statistics on the gender diversity pipeline to determine the potential for women in upper and middle management. The schilling report seeks to create «Transparency at the Top», and this is why it is recognised as an independent source for in-depth analysis of Switzerland’s management positions.

The statistics on the executive and supervisory boards of Switzerland’s 100 largest employers were gathered by the guido schilling ag internal project team. Our own research, personal interviews and direct enquiries, even at companies that do not normally make their statistics public, are what make the results of the survey so meaningful. The data completeness rate is 97% for the executive boards and 99% for the supervisory boards. The statistics on the public sector were also gathered by the internal project team.

The 250 most important companies were surveyed directly for statistics on the gender diversity pipeline, since this data is not publicly available or researchable. The survey of the 100 largest companies and the public sector, as well as on the gender diversity pipeline, was completed on 31 December 2022.

Statistics are also gathered on the subgroups of women, foreigners, SMI companies, as well as CEOs and chairmen and chairwomen, to examine trends and developments there.

This year, the schillingreport includes a series of interviews with chairmen and a chairwoman, as well as a government councillor of the public sector. In addition to the data gathered and analysed, these interviews offer interesting and diverse insights.

3 General Information about the Report

Since seven years the survey of Switzerland’s largest employers additionally includes the public sector and the composition of its top management, as well as the gender diversity pipeline of the 250 largest Swiss companies. This expanded content included some important findings in the first year, and will also reveal exciting developments in the coming years. The internal project team used the broadest possible channels to conduct its research for the schillingreport, gathering additional data directly from the companies. Even companies that rarely disclose information have provided statistics that are unavailable to the general public. The consistency of the data continues to be solid in the report’s 18th year of publication.

Annex

For the schillingreport, an additional Annex has been prepared with comprehensive information on the results of the new surveys of the public sector and gender diversity pipelines. The Annex also contains additional information on the educational background of board members, languages spoken in the public sector etc., not included in the report, therefore providing a broad overview of the survey samples. All of the statistics gathered from 2006 to 2016 for the traditional schillingreport, with an analysis of Switzerland’s 100 largest employers, are available in a separate Annex.

The Samples

A list of all companies included in the survey is found at the end of the Report. For better orientation, several of the samples on the list are highlighted by an appropriate colour to distinguish between them.

Private Sector Switzerland's 100 Largest Employers		Public Sector 26 Cantons and the Federal Administration		Gender Diversity Pipeline Survey of the 250 Largest Swiss Companies
Executive Boards	Supervisory Boards	Top Officials Federal Chancellor Cantonal Chancellors General Secretaries Department Heads	Federal Councillors/ Government Councillors	Executive Boards Senior Management Middle Management General Workforce	Supervisory Boards

The sample of the private economy, with the 100 largest Swiss employers, continues to be designated in the survey as the Private Sector, as it has been since 2006. The gender diversity pipeline sample, for which the 250 most important Swiss companies were surveyed, is titled Gender Diversity Pipeline. The 20 Swiss Market Index (SMI) companies were surveyed separately for both the private sector and the gender diversity pipeline. The public sector sample includes all 26 cantons, as well as the federal administration. The survey of the 100 largest companies and the public sector, as well as the gender diversity pipeline, for which the statistics have been updated this year, was completed on 31 December 2022.

Regarding the gender diversity pipeline, the situation at the two management levels below the executive board were also examined to determine whether there was any potential for the women there to move up to the next level. Senior management refers to the management teams of the executive board members, and middle management refers to those who directly report to senior management. Thus, the survey provides an overview of the three top operational management levels of the companies. For comparison purposes, the corresponding statistics for the entire workforce are examined.

The size of the samples can vary from question to question. This is because the complete data from all individuals is not available for some survey questions. With few exceptions, all percentages are rounded off to whole numbers in accordance with accepted rules, since decimal places reflect an unrealistic precision.

The survey places special emphasis on new members joining the management boards during the survey period, since this is often the best way to identify new developments and trends.

The private sector sample includes both corporate groups as well as subsidiaries that meet the criteria for selection. This apparent duplication is necessary because some subsidiaries have a dominant position on the Swiss market. For example, the survey includes both the parent company, Zurich Insurance Group, and the Swiss subsidiary, Zürich Versicherungs-Gesellschaft AG. Another example of this in this report is ABB Ltd. and UBS AG, with their subsidiaries, ABB Schweiz AG and UBS Switzerland AG. Subsidiaries, branches and corporate divisions were consistently omitted in the survey of the supervisory boards.

Executive Boards/Top Managers/Gender-Diversity-Pipeline	Private Sector				Public Sector				Gender-Diversity-Pipeline
	2023		2022		2023		2022		2023		2021
Total companies/organisations surveyed	138		138		27		27		250		250
Companies/organisations actually included in the report	122	100%	119	100%	27	100%	27	100%	122	100%	145	100%
Complete information available	117	96%	115	97%	20	74%	20	74%	112	92%	132	91%

The size of the private sector sample varies over the years due to mergers, takeovers and the structure of SMIs. A company may also undergo internal changes so that it no longer meets the criteria for inclusion in the schillingreport. For the private sector, the schilling report currently surveys 932 executive board members at 122 companies. For the public sector, 1045 top executives in 26 cantons and in the federal administration are included in the survey. Of the 250 companies approached for the gender diversity pipeline survey, 122 made their statistics available.

Supervisory Boards/Top Managers/Gender-Diversity-Pipeline	Private Sector				Public Sector				Gender-Diversity-Pipeline
	2023		2022		2023		2022		2023		2021
Total companies/organisations surveyed	111		99		27		27		250		250
Companies/organisations actually included in the report	96	100%	92	100%	27	100%	27	100%	122	100%	145	100%
Complete information available	95	99%	91	99%	27	100%	27	100%	112	92%	137	94%

The sample of the supervisory boards in the private sector is smaller than that of the executive boards, since the supervisory boards of Swiss subsidiaries and corporate divisions were not included. Inclusion of these boards would distort the picture of the sample. The schillingreport currently surveys 871 supervisory board members at 96 companies. For the public sector, 155 federal/governing council members were surveyed to determine the share of women. For the gender diversity pipeline, the supervisory boards of 122 companies were examined.

Breakdown of the Surveyed Companies by Industry

For the private sector, the 2023 schillingreport surveyed 122 companies from 11 different industries. The predominant industries were the manufacturing sector (38), and retail/consumer goods (23). There are 23 companies from the financial services sector, i.e. insurance and banking.

For the gender diversity pipeline survey, 122 companies from 11 different industries were surveyed. The predominant industries in this survey were banking and manufacturing, with 25 from each being surveyed. There are 37 companies from the financial services sector, i.e. insurance and banking, in this survey.

4 Management Boards of the Private and Public Sectors

The first section of the schillingreport concerns the composition of the executive and supervisory boards of the private sector, and that of the posts held by senior executives, as well as those on federal and cantonal government councils of the public sector.

4.1 Composition of the Boards

Executive Boards and Senior Managers

Composition of the EBs and Senior Management	Private Sector				Public Sector
	Overall Sample		New		Overall Sample		New
Number of companies/organisations	122				27
Total members	932	100%	142	100%	1045	100%	131	100%
Number of women	181	19%	39	27%	249	24%	43	33%
Number of men	751	81%	103	73%	796	76%	88	67%
Number of Swiss members	493	53%	63	44%
Number of foreigners	439	47%	79	56%
Number of new members	142	15%			131	13%

Between 2006 and 2016, the share of women on executive boards rose from 4% to 6%, the share of women among newly elected executive board members being relatively low. In 2017 the percentage of female members on executive boards leapt from 6% to 8% in the private sector and dropped back to 7% in 2018. In 2019 the share of women among the new members rose to 9% with 18% newly appointed female members. In 2022, the share of women on the executive boards in the private sector rose from 13% to 17%. This leap was achieved thanks to 32% women among the newly appointed. Currently, 27% of the vacant executive board seats are filled by women. Thus, the share of women on the executive boards has risen by 2 percentage points to 19%. The public sector achieves a share of women in top positions of 24%. At 11%, the fluctuation in the public sector is lower than in the private sector at 14%, but the share of women among the newly appointed top executives is slightly higher at 33% than in the private sector at 27%. The public sector, for example, has seen a leap from 23% to 24% female top executives.

The survey only examined the percentage of foreigners in the private sector, since senior public officials are almost exclusively Swiss citizens, and a survey of the percentage of foreigners has no relevance. In the private sector, the percentage of foreigners on executive boards increases to 47%, with 56% of the new executive board members in the survey year being foreigners. In other words, more than half of the newly appointed executive board members do not hold Swiss citizenship.

Supervisory Boards and Federal/Governing Councils

Composition of the Supervisory Boards and Federal/Governing Councils	Private Sector				Public Sector
	Overall Sample		New		Overall Sample
Number of companies/organisations	96				27
Total members	871	100%	81	100%	155		100%
Number of women	255	29%	37	46%	44		28%
Number of men	616	71%	44	54%	111		72%
Number of Swiss members	559	64%	45	56%
Number of foreigners	312	36%	34	44%
Number of new members	81	9%

Of the supervisory board members in the private sector, 29% are women (2022: 26%). Among the newly appointed supervisory board members, 46% are women. Almost every second vacant seat on the supervisory boards is filled by a woman. Among those serving on the political boards of the federal government and the cantons, 28% (2022: 28%) of all federal and governing council members are women, while 43% (2022: 43%) of those serving as councillors in the federal government alone are women.

The percentage of foreigners on supervisory boards of the private sector is 36% (2022: 36%), while 44% of the newly elected supervisory board members do not hold a Swiss passport. This survey of foreigners was not conducted in the public sector because political officeholders are almost exclusively Swiss citizens.

4.2 Areas of Responsibility of Senior Federal and Cantonal Officials, and of Executive Board Members

Top Federal and Cantonal Officials

	Overall Sample	Federal Chancellor/ Cantonal Chancellors	General Secretaries	Department Heads
Existing	914	27	144	750
New	131	-	20	112
Total	1045	27	164	862

In addition to the overall sample, three different areas of responsibilities or function groups are identified at the top levels of the public sector. The 27 cantonal chancellors and the federal chancellor are examined separately, as are the general secretaries and department heads.

Executive Board Members
Executive board members are divided into business and service functions in the survey. The business function includes all turnover-related positions at the company and/or all functions in the company’s core business, such as sales, marketing responsibilities, research and development, and production. Service functions are all positions that play a supporting role at the company and have no direct impact on sales, such as human resources and communication.

	Areas of Responsibility of EB Members				Areas of Responsibility of New EB Members
	Business Function		Service Function		Business Function		Service Function
Overall Sample	667	72%	265	28%	102	72%	40	28%
Men	578	77%	173	23%	81	79%	22	21%
Women	89	49%	92	51%	21	54%	18	46%

While 72% of executive board members have a business function, the figure for new members is 72%. Among women, 49% have a business function, while the figure is 54% for new female members. While 51% of the women manage a support unit, a more then three quarters (77%) of the male executive board members work in the company’s core business, and just a quarter in managing service units.

4.3 Experience of the Board Members

When examining the experience of the board members in the private sector, two essential questions arise: What professional experience did the executive and supervisory board members have prior to being appointed to a board? And how long have they been at the company? In the public administration, on the other hand, the question of the permeability of the boundary between the public and private sector arises.

Private Sector

Executive Boards

Expierence of the EB Members	Overall Sample		New
Size of the sample	932	100%	142	100%
Worked at the company beforehand	522	56%	77	54%
Sat on another EB beforehand	156	17%	2	2%
Worked at the company and sat on another EB beforehand	38	4%	-	-
No prior experience at the company or on another EB	216	23%	63	44%

A total of 60% of executive board members worked at the company prior to joining the board and were recruited internally. This indicates the importance of managing internal talent. Among executive board members, 21% had sat on the board of another company prior to being appointed. By contrast, 23% had no relevant experience at the same company or on another executive board. This is due in part to the recruitment from large corporate groups of managers who had not held posts on the top management board of the company, but instead on a lower board at the divisional level of corporate management, for example. Among new members, 44% had neither experience on another executive board nor were recruited internally. 54% of the newly appointed managers were already working at the company when they were appointed to the executive board. The number of new managers with experience on another executive board was 2%.

Average Experience of EB Members	On the Current EB	At the Company	At the Company before joining the EB
Overall sample	5 years
Worked at the company beforehand	5 years	17 years	12 years
Worked at the company and sat on another EB beforehand	7 years	13 years	6 years
Sat on another EB beforehand	5 years
No prior experience at the company or on another EB	4 years

There were some particularly interesting findings in the analysis of the average experience of executive board members. An examination of the period during which an executive board member has been employed at a company reveals that managers promoted internally must work at the company longer (an average of 12 years) before they are appointed to the executive board than members with external experience at the same hierarchical level – even if only at an SME. The latter are appointed to the management board after an average of just 6 years.

Supervisory Boards

Background of the SB Members	Overall Sample		New
Worked at the company beforehand	132	100%	10	100%
Previously CEO at the company	21	16%	1	10%
Previously on the EB of the company	16	12%	-
Previously EB member and CEO at the company	9	7%	-
Previously neither EB member nor CEO at the company	86	65%	9	90%

A total of 871 supervisory board members were surveyed this year. Of these, 132 had already worked for the company before joining the board (16%). Of the latter, 16% were CEOs, 12% were part of executive board, and another 7% held both of these posts. Therefore, experience at the company is an important factor in being selected to serve on the supervisory board. However, an even more interesting statistic is that, before being appointed, 9% of all 871 supervisory board members sat on the executive board of another company included in the schillingreport. 64 people in the sample are members of several supervisory boards, holding a total of 138 seats. In addition, 3 executive board members also sit on the supervisory board of another company included in the report.

Average Experience of SB Members	On the current SB	At the Company	At the Company before joining the SB
Overall Sample	6 years
Worked at the company beforehand	8 years	20 years	12 years

The average supervisory board member has held the post for 6 years. With an average of 8 years, supervisory board members who worked in operations at the company beforehand have a little more seniority. They have been with the company an average of 20 years and were appointed to the supervisory board after an average of 12 years. The new supervisory board members were appointed to the strategic management board after an average of 14 years.

Public Sector

In analysing the experience of the senior officials of the public administration, the issue of the permeability of the boundary between the public and private sector comes to the forefront. It is also interesting to learn what career experience these individuals had prior to taking their current position, and how long they have been working for the cantonal/federal government overall.

Length of Service

	Overall Sample	Federal Chancellor/ Cantonal Chancellors	General Secretaries	Department Heads
Overall sample	7 years	9 years	7 years	7 years
Women	5 years	7 years	5 years	4 years
Men	8 years	10 years	8 years	8 years

The average length of service of the individuals surveyed is 7 years. The male cantonal chancellors have served the longest, an average of 10 years. The survey results show that women have served less time than men overall in those posts.

Experience

	Overall Sample		Length of Service in Current Position	Length of Service in the Canton	Years in the Canton before Current Position
Previously worked in same canton (continuously)	514	51%	7 years	18 years	11 years
Did not previously work in same canton	465	46%	7 years

Before assuming their current post, 51% of the individuals surveyed worked continuously in the same canton or in the federal administration. Therefore, more than half of these senior officials were recruited internally. On average, these persons have been working in the federal/cantonal administration for 18 years, achieved their current post in 11 years, and have been working in it for an average of 7 years. Those who had not previously worked in the same canton or in the federal administration have also been working an average of 7 years in their current post. Another 3% were appointed to their position from outside, but had already worked in the same canton and or in the federal administration before.

Permeability

	Overall Sample		Federal Chancellor/ Cantonal Chancellors		General Secretaries		Department Heads
Previously worked in the same canton	517	58%	16	64%	87	64%	417	57%
Previously worked in private sector	231	32%	4	21%	37	36%	191	32%
Previously worked in the public sector	397	55%	2	63%	52	50%	355	56%
Previously worked in the private and public sector	94	13%	3	16%	15	14%	76	13%

Overall, 58% of the senior officials surveyed already worked for their current cantonal/federal employer prior to taking their current post: 95% of them have continuously worked there, while 5% left the canton/federal administration and returned later. A total of 45% of these individuals once worked in the private sector before taking their current position. 2022 it was a bit less with 50%. In 2020, this figure was 47% and 2019 it was 49%. The boundary between the private and the public sector decreased from 36% (2022) to current 32%. A total of 68% had previously worked for another public administration. And 13% had previously worked in both the private as well as the public sector. This means that many public managers have accumulated extensive experience throughout their careers beyond the organisation they work for now, facilitating a broader view of the professional world.

Of the 103 people who were newly appointed to their posts in the survey period, 56% were recruited internally (2022: 53%). A total of 30% of the new people previously worked in another public administration capacity, while 30% had experience in the private sector, 4% in both public administration and the private sector, with 25% having begun their career with their current employer. In most cases, cantonal chancellors are recruited from within the cantons/federal government. In this survey, 59% of the cantonal chancellors were recruited internally for their posts. This figure is 53% in the case of the general secretaries, and 48% for department heads. Over half of the general secretaries (50%) have experience in the private sector, while 47% of department heads, and a third, or 38%, of the chancellery supervisors do.

5 Gender Diversity of the Private and Public Sectors

This chapter focuses on the shares of women in the examined samples of the private and public sectors as well as the gender diversity pipeline of the participating companies. The gender diversity pipeline sample, in which the 250 most important Swiss companies were surveyed, is different from that of the 100 largest Swiss employers surveyed since 2006. The figures for the gender diversity pipeline are collected every two years. Current figures are available for this year’s report.

5.1 Overview of the Shares of Women

Level	Gender Diversity Pipeline	Public Sector
SB Presidency	7%
Supervisory Boards/Government and Federal Council	27%	28%
CEO	6%
Executive Boards/Senior Public Officials	15%	27%
Senior Management	20%	29%
Middle Management	27%	29%
Total workforce	37%	46%

For the 122 companies surveyed, the share of women on the supervisory board is 27%, 7 percentage point higher than the figure for the last survey in 2021. Chairman and chairwoman positions amount to 7% (2021: 7%). While 37% of the total workforce is made up of women, 27% work in middle management and 20% in top management. A clear and continuous decline in the share of women can be observed from one hierarchical level to the next. At the executive board level, this percentage has again fallen sharply; in the companies surveyed, women account for 15%. At each of these levels, the share of women has increased between 1 and 3 percentage points each since 2019. 6% of CEOs are women. In the public sector sample, 15 cantons and the Swiss Federation evaluated their shares of women at the levels below senior public officials, and the picture is similar to that of the 122 private sector companies, although with higher values. All 26 cantons and the federal administration were evaluated for the senior public officials. In the included cantons, almost half of the workforce consists of women with 46% (2021: 45%), 29% at middle management level (2021: 29%) and 29% at senior management level (2021: 29%).

The figures above can be easily displayed as a pipeline by means of these graphs, which clearly shows that the shares of women are significantly higher in the lower levels than at management level. The pyramid shape is characteristic of many participating companies and their industry values, with large differences in the share of women within the industries.

5.2 Shares of Women at the Companies per Hierarchical Level

An analysis of the shares of women by hierarchical level is particularly interesting with regard to the frequency distribution of companies and is intended to show which shares of women are most strongly represented. The distribution shows how different the starting positions of the participating companies currently are with regard to gender diversity: The precursors are rapidly approaching a balanced representation of the sexes in management bodies. There is a large group of companies that have considerable potential to catch up at all levels of the hierarchy.

Executive Boards

33 companies or 31% of the total sample have no women in executive board positions and much less than in 2021 with 45%.A cluster of 36 companies counts between 11 and 20% women in executive board positions. At first glance, the small number of companies (2) with a share of women between 1 and 10% seems to be out of line with the trend. However, it is due to the fact that many executive boards have fewer than 10 members, which makes a single-digit percentage share impossible. Only 13 companies (12%) have more than 30% women in executive board positions.

Senior Management

6% (6) of the companies surveyed have no women in senior management, which corresponds to a decrease of 1 percentage point compared to 2021. 53% (53) of companies have between 1 and 20% female executives in senior management. 42 of companies (42) have over 20% women in senior management. Only 17 companies at this hierarchical level achieve a share of more than 30% women.

Middle Management

Only 2 companies do not employ women in middle management (2%). The highest concentration of companies is clearly in the range between 11 and 20% of women (29). 38 companies employ more than 30% of women in middle executive board positions. In 13 of these companies, women make up more than half of managers at this hierarchical level. A similar picture to 2021 can be seen with a slightly positive shift to the right.

General Workforce

Companies most often employ 21 to 30% women in their general workforce. These 21 companies represent 20% of the companies surveyed. 23 companies (22%) employ less than 20% women, of whom a disproportionately large number are in the manufacturing industry. In 34 (32%) of the participating companies 31 to 50% of women are employed. In 27 (26%) women make up the majority of the general workforce.
The overall pattern is therefore also clear when comparing the hierarchy levels: The higher the hierarchy level, the lower the probability that more than 30% of women are represented. If 61 companies meet this criterion at the general workforce level, there are 38 companies in middle management, 17 in senior management and 13 in the executive board.

Supervisory Board

9 companies (10%, 2021: 23%) have no women on the supervisory board – this is significantly less than on the executive boards, but more than in senior management. 38 companies (41%) already employ more than 30% female supervisory board members, an increase of 20 percentage points compared to 2021. The majority of companies (43 and 47% respectively) have 11 to 30% women on the supervisory board.

5.3 A Breakdown of Gender Diversity at the Companies by Sector

The various sectors of the economy have very different basic requirements in terms of gender diversity. These requirements must be considered when assessing the potential of specific measures to strengthen gender diversity. The shares of women in basic and middle management positions vary widely from industry to industry and thus affect the ability of a single company to build and lead a broad pipeline of female talent.

An Overview of the Shares of Women per Sector

In this report, the 122 participating companies were assigned to 11 industry clusters, which allow a comparison with similar companies on the one hand, and between industries on the other.

Ten of the 11 industry clusters examined have sufficient companies to determine a representative industry profile – the minimum number of companies per industry was set at 3. The sample is dominated by the manufacturing industry with 25 and banks with 24 participating companies. Only 1 company each from the wholesale trade/commodities industry participated in the report, which is why these results are not published.

Shares of Women by Hierarchical Level in Industry Comparison

Percentage of women	Banking	Insurance	Media/ICT	Business Services	Transport/Logistics/ Tourism	Real Estate	Manufacturing Industry	Energy	Life Sciences	Retail/ Consumer Goods
Number of companies	24	13	7	6	7	8	25	4	13	14
SB Presidency	5%	9%	-	-	17%	-	4%	33%	8%	7%
Supervisory Board	29%	22%	26%	48%	32%	27%	18%	26%	27%	29%
CEO	-	9%	-	-	-	-	-	33%	-	21%
Executive Board	15%	14%	16%	23%	21%	10%	9%	19%	20%
Senior Management	20%	19%	14%	27%	14%	19%	15%	14%	28%	28%
Middle Management	25%	31%	21%	35%	11%	29%	18%	39%	33%	38%
General Workforce	41%	49%	29%	56%	19%	31%	29%	22%	42%	46%

The business services sector cluster accounts for the largest share of women in the Business Services (56%), while the lowest figures can be found in the Transport/Logistics/Tourism (19%). The other industries are relatively close to the mean of the total sample (37%). At the middle management level, the highest share of female executives within companies can be found in the Energy (39%), Retail/Consumer Goods (38%) and Business Services (35%) sectors. The other sectors have shares between 11% (Transport/Logistics/Tourism) and 33% (Life Sciences). In senior management, retail/consumer goods and business services sectors cluster have the highest share of women at 28% and 27% respectively followed by the life sciences sector with 23% and banking industry with 20%. At this hierarchical level, the media/ICT, transport/logistics/tourism and energy sectors have the fewest female executives with each 14%. The situation regarding executive boards is somewhat similar: The business services (23%), transport/logistics/tourism and life sciences (each 21%) sectors have the highest share of female executive board members. The real estate sector (10%) and manufacturing industry (9%) have the lowest shares of female executive board members.

Shares of Women in Individual Industries

The sectors have very divergent basic requirements with regard to the share of women, which can be taken into account when setting diversity targets and defining relevant comparative values. For this reason, a detailed look at the starting position and the current pipeline of female talent currently available in the individual industries is of interest.

Banking

The banking industry sample analysed comprises 24 institutions, including the two major banks, several private, regional and universal banks and cantonal banks. Compared to the total sample, the share of women in the general workforce is significantly higher at 41%. In contrast, the share of women in middle management is below average at 25% (2021: 24%). 15% of the executive board members in the participating banks are female.

Insurance

The 13 insurance institutions participating in the report have an average of 49% women on their general workforce. Therefore, there is great potential to further enhance gender diversity at the top through internal talent development. The share of women in middle management has increased. 31% (2021: 26%) of women work in middle management and 19% (2021: 19%) in senior management – similar values as in the total sample. One insurance company (9%) is managed by a female CEO, 14% (2021: 10%) of the members of the executive board are female.

Media/ICT

The media, IT and telco companies are jointly identified as a industry cluster because the requirements profiles and areas of activity of these companies are converging. This industry cluster with 7 companies has a high share of women in the executive board (16%). In senior management 14% women are employed; an increase of 5 percentage points for the executive board compared to 2021, but a decrease of 2 percentage points for senior management. The general workforce stayed constant with a share of women of 29% compared to 2021. There are no female CEOs in the participating companies. The values in the executive board are comparable with the overall sample and the values in senior and middle management are slightly lower. Since the share of female employees is only 289 overall, this industry is already relatively successful in developing its internal talent.

Business Services

The share of women in the general workforce is with 56% significantly higher than the total sample (37%). This broad pipeline is manifested at the management levels: 35% (2021: 54%) women in middle management, 27% (2021: 25%)in senior management and 23% (2021: 22%) in the executive boards. All values lie significantly above those of the total sample.

Transport/Logistics/Tourism

The share of women in the general workforce of the 8 participating companies from the transport, logistics and tourism sectors was below average for the sector (19%), and this was reflected at a management level. On executive boards the share of women was 21% (2021: 10%), senior management 14% (2021: 20%) and middle management 11% (2021: 19%).

Real Estate

The share of women in the general workforce of the real estate industry was slightly below average, at 31%. 29% of managers in middle management were women, and 19% in senior management. These are high shares compared to the entire sample. There were no women on executive boards in the real estate sector in 2019; this year the share increased to 10%. There are currently still no female CEOs. For women, the real estate career ladder is harder to climb to the top than in other sectors.

Manufacturing Industry

This cluster includes the machinery, electronics and metal industries, the precision industry and industrial construction suppliers. On the one hand, these 25 companies have a very low share of women in the general workforce, some 29%. In middle management (18%) and senior management (15%), however, the industry cluster approaches the average share of the overall sample. In the manufacturing industry, 9% of executive board members are women, while none of the companies has a woman as CEO.
This is characteristic of the pipeline for women at industrial companies: a smaller share in the general workforce that nonetheless tapers off less sharply toward the top than in other sectors. Therefore, by comparison with other sectors, Swiss industrial enterprises have been relatively successful in tapping the potential of in-house talent. However, a further increase in gender diversity will require an increase in the share of women in the general workforce and in middle management.

Energy

The 3 companies in the energy sector have the second lowest share of women (22%) in the general workforce. The pipeline atypically widens at management level. In middle management as well as in senior management, the share of women lies with 39% and 19% respectively clearly above the average of the entire sample. At senior management level, however, the share of women, at 14%, is below the average. Of the 3 companies, 1 of them had a female CEO at the end of 2022, which is 33%.

Life Sciences

The life sciences sector, which includes chemical, pharmaceutical, medical technology and biotechnology companies, has a general workforce that is 42% female, which is above average, and 1 percentage point higher than in the last survey. However, the participating companies in this sector have been very successful in tapping the potential of their general workforce and preparing women for middle management: At 34% (2021: 33%), the number of women in middle management of the life sciences sector is high. In senior management, the share of women is also above average at 25% (2021: 25%). On the executive boards, 20% (2021: 17%) of the members are women, while there is 1 female CEO in the life sciences sector. Very good conditions have been established in the sector to consistently promote talented women in middle management and bring them into senior management and onto the executive boards.

Retail/Consumer Goods

This industry cluster includes retail trade, food and other consumer goods enterprises. This cluster stands out with a high share of women in the general workforce of 46%, clearly over the average of the entire sample. The respective values in senior management (28%) and in middle management (38%) as well as the value on the executive board (21%) are clearly above average. The pipeline for female talent is highly typical: It tapers off significantly toward the top of the hierarchy. This sector is less successful than others in tapping the in-house talent of the very high share of women in its general workforce.

6 Nationalities in the Private Sector

The internationalisation of companies also brings changes to their management boards. It is not just the best managers in Switzerland who are in demand today but the best international managers. A clear sign of this is that English is increasingly becoming the corporate language. This trend merits special consideration. A survey of nationalities in the public sector was not conducted, since the public sector employs almost exclusively Swiss citizens, and a survey of the percentage of foreigners is of no relevance.

6.1 Executive Boards

Overview of Foreign Executive Board Members

Overview	Overall Sample		New
Number of companies	122
Total EB members	932	100%	142	100%
Number of foreigners	439	47%	79	56%
Number of foreigners	439	100%	79	100%
Number of women	98	22%	23	29%
Number of men	341	78%	56	71%
Number of CEOs	122	100%	18	100%
Number of foreigners	44	36%	7	39%
Number of SMI EB members	176	100%	33	100%
Number of foreigners	132	75%	28	85%

The percentage of foreigners on executive boards rose continuously by 9 percentage points from 2006 to 2011, from 36% to 45%. Since then, it appears to have settled at this level. Currently the share of foreigners is increasing again for the first time, to 47%. While foreigners accounted for 60% of the newly appointed members in 2016 and 64% in 2017, the figure was only 38% in 2018 and 54% again in 2019. Last year, the share of foreigners among new members was 50%; currently, this number is 56%.

After stagnating at 63% between 2016 and 2018, the percentage of foreigners on the management boards of SMI companies rose to 65% in 2019 and to 67% in 2020. Currently the figure stands at 75% again. This share is therefore well above the overall sample, which is 47%, representing a difference of 28 percentage points.

The number of foreigners among the CEOs decreased by 2 percentage points and is now 36% (2022: 38%). Among the foreigners in the overall sample, the share of women, at 22%, is more than the share in the overall average (19%). Among the new foreign CEOs, 39% are women, which is also slightly higher as in the overall sample (36%). In 2021, this figure was less with 27%.

There are no Swiss members on 14 of the executive boards examined in the report (11%), while all of the executive board members at 22 of the 122 companies surveyed (18%) are Swiss. Last year, this figure was higher, by 19%. Both of these figures are low, which means that the companies have mixed management boards in terms of nationality.

Nationality of Foreign Executive Board Members

Most of the foreign executive board members continue to be from Germany (116, 26%). The 111 Anglo-Saxons (U.S., GB, AUS, CAN, IRL) represent a total of 25% (2022: 25%). Germans and Anglo-Saxons also represent the majority of the 79 new executive board members. The 19 German members account for 26%, representing an increase from last year (2022: 23%). In contrast, the 23 Anglo-Saxons now represent 31% (2022: 28%).

6.2 Supervisory Boards

Overview of Foreign Supervisory Board Members

Overview	Overall Sample		New
Number of companies	96
Total SB members	871	100%	81	100%
Number of foreigners	312	36%	36	44%
Number of foreigners	312	100%	36	100%
Number of women	111	36%	17	47%
Number of men	201	64%	19	53%
Number of SB chairmen and chairwomen	96	100%	9	100%
Number of foreigners	19	20%	1	11%
Number of SMI chairmen and chairwomen	215	100%	26	100%
Number of foreigners	128	60%	18	69%

At 36%, the percentage of foreigners on the supervisory board is equal as the previous year and 11 percentage points lower than on the executive boards (47%). At 20%, the number of foreign chairmen and chairwomen is 2 percentage points lower than the previous year. The number of foreign CEOs decreased from 38% to 36%. The share of women among the foreigners is 36%, somewhat higher than the 29% in the overall sample, and it has continuously increased since the survey began. Among new foreign members, women represent 47%, significantly higher than the 36% of the overall sample. The 60% of foreign supervisory board members at SMI companies is 24 points higher than that of all foreign supervisory board members (36%).

At 3 of the companies surveyed (3%), there are no Swiss supervisory board members, while all of the supervisory board members at 20 of the 96 companies surveyed (21%) are Swiss.

Nationality of Foreign Supervisory Board Members

The 71 Germans are also the largest group among the 312 foreign supervisory board members, representing 23%. The U.S. is the second largest group with 16% (51 people), followed by Great Britain with 9% (28), and France with 5% (15). There are a total of 91 Anglo-Saxons (U.S., GB, CAN, AUS, IRL) representing 29%. Among those from German-speaking countries, Germany, Austria and Liechtenstein make up a total of 27% of foreign supervisory board members (84 people), which is 2 percentage point less than the Anglo-Saxons. While there are more than twice as many Germans on executive boards as U.S. citizens, the situation is different on supervisory boards: Although there are also more Germans on supervisory boards, they represent only about 7 percentage point more than the Americans.

This year there are 36 new foreign supervisory board members, reflecting an interesting trend with respect to previous years. In 2018, the Germans represented the largest group by far with 31%, followed by the U.S. with 18% and the British with 8%. Overall, Anglo-Saxons (U.S., GB, CAN, IRL) represented 31% (12) of the new supervisory board members, while Germans and Austrians represented a total of 33% (13 members). In 2019, members from the U.S. represented 18% (9) of the new supervisory board members, followed by the Germans, who represented 14% (7), and ahead of the British, who represented 10% (5). Altogether, the Anglo-Saxon countries represented 36% of the new supervisory board members. In 2020, Germans were again second with 3 new supervisory board members (10%) behind the U.S. with 12 (39%), but in front of the Anglo-Saxons (British and Canadian), the Netherlands and Spain with 2 seats (6%) each. Again Germans represent the largest group with 19% (7) ahead of the U.S. Americans and Chinese with each 14% (5). The Anglo-Saxon countries (U.S., GB, CAN, IRL) foreign supervisory board members with 22% (8) than Germans and Austrians together, with 19%.

6.3 Women

Overview of Foreign Women

	Executive Boards				Supervisory Boards
	Overall Sample		New		Overall Sample		New
Total female members	181	100%	39	100%	255	100%	37	100%
Number of Swiss women	83	46%%	16	41%	144	56%	20	54%
Number of foreign women	98	54%	23	59%	111	44%	17	56%
Total female CEOs/chairwomen	10	100%	3	100%	7	100%	-	-
Number of Swiss women	9	90%	3	100%	7	100%	-	-
Number of foreign women	1	10%	-	-	1	14%	-	-
Total female SMI members	43	100%	11	100%	73	100%	14	100%
Number of Swiss women	4	9%	-	-	21	29%	2	14%
Number of foreign women	39	91%	11	100%	52	71%	12	86%
Total female SMI CEOs/chairwomen	-	-	-	-	1	100%	1	100%
Number of Swiss women	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Number of foreign women	-	-		-	1	100%	1	100%

Among the female executive board members, with 46% there are the same number of Swiss nationals as last year. At 56%, the number of Swiss women on supervisory boards is equal to last year, although the figure has levelled off at 60% over the last 5 years. The share of foreign women both on executive and supervisory boards has increased continuously over the entire survey period, which suggests that the self-image of women pursuing a career is higher abroad than in Switzerland. Socially, politically and corporately Switzerland has a lot of catching up to do in this area.

Nationality of Foreign Women on Executive Boards

The U.S. Americans represent the largest group of foreign women: 20% (20) of all foreign women on executive boards hold an U.S. passport (2022: 22%). Women from France (15) follow on the second rank with 15% (2022 17%). German women (14) follow on the third rank with 14% (2022 21%), 10% are from Great Britain (10), from Belgium and Italy are each 5 (5%), from Sweden 4 (4%) and from the Netherlands 3 (3%). Among the 39 new members, there are 4 Great Britains (10%), 3 from Belgium and the USA (each 8%) and from Germany and France each 2 (5%). Among the 11 new female SMI executive board members none holds a Swiss passport (2022 2), the female SMI-managers are from Great Britain (4), USA (2), Germany (1), France (1), Ireland (1), Sweden (1) and Spain (1).

Nationality of Foreign Women on Supervisory Boards

Among supervisory board members, 56% are Swiss women. This figure was also 56% last year, and 60% the year before. Among the 111 foreign women on supervisory boards, 36% (40) are Anglo-Saxon, and more than half of them (21% or 23 people) hold a U.S. passport. Among all women on the supervisory boards, 15% (17) are German, 11% (12) are British, 5% (6) are Chinese, 4.5% (5) are Canadian, each 4% (each 4) are from France, Austria, Sweden and Singapore, each 3% (3) are from the Netherlands and South Africa. Another 5 countries are represented by each 2 women (2%) and 13 countries 1 woman each (1%). If SMI companies are excluded from the analysis, the share of Swiss women (123) among the 181 supervisory board members is 68%. This is explained by the fact that 47% (52) of all 111 of the foreign female supervisory board members work at SMI companies. Therefore, SMI-listed companies are the most internationalised with respect to female supervisory board members.

7 A Look at Interesting Subgroups

This separate analysis of interesting subgroups and industries is based on extensive findings in the private sector and on the gender diversity pipeline, and on a comparison with the overall sample. The analysis is intended as a starting point for a better understanding of specific developments and trends in Switzerland.

7.1 CEOs and Chairmen and Chairwomen

CEOs and chairmen and chairwomen warrant special attention. Their statistics were examined separately from the overall survey data because they reveal how the path to the top of a company might look.

Overview of CEOs and Chairmen and Chairwomen

CEOs

Overview of CEOs	Overall Sample		New
Number of companies	122
Total CEOs	122	100%	18	100%
Number of women	10	8%	3	17%
Number of men	112	92%	15	83%
Number of Swiss members	78	64%	11	61%
Number of foreigners	44	36%	7	39%
Number of new members	18	15%
Number of SMI CEOs	20	100%	2	100%
Number of women	-	-	-	-
Number of men	20	100%	2	100%
Number of Swiss members	8	40%	2	100%
Number of foreigners	12	60%	-	-
Number of new members	2	10%

In the current survey year, a total of 18 CEOs were newly appointed to their position, which corresponds to a share of 15%. Among the 122 CEOs, men clearly dominate, but this year there has been a strong increase of 3 female CEOs to currently 10. They are Désirée Baer (SBB Cargo), Brigitte Beck (RUAG MRO), Philomena Colatrella (CSS Versicherung), Sabine Keller-Busse (UBS Switzerland AG), Nadja Lang (ZFV-Unternehmungen), Magdalena Martullo-Blocher (EMS-Chemie Holding AG), Michèle Rodoni (Die Mobiliar), Aglaë Strachwitz (McDonald’s Schweiz), Nora Teuwsen (ABB Schweiz) and Suzanne Thoma (Sulzer Energie AG).

The number of CEOs who are foreigners equals 36%, which is considerably lower than in the overall sample (47%). The foreign CEOs reached their peak in 2011 at 44%, and has since declined. The SMI CEOs are clearly more international: 60% of them hold a foreign passport (2022: 57%).

Chairmen and Chairwomen

Overview of Chairmen and Chairwomen	Overall Sample		New
Number of companies	96
Total chairmen and chairwomen	96	100%	9	100%
Number of women	7	7%	2	22%
Number of men	89	93%	7	78%
Number of Swiss members	77	80%	8	89%
Number of foreigners	19	20%	1	11%
Number of new members	9	9%
Number of SMI Chairmen and Chairwomen	20	100%	2	100%
Number of women	1	5%	-	-
Number of men	19	95%	2	100%
Number of Swiss members	12	60%	1	50%
Number of foreigners	8	40%	1	50%
Number of new members	2	10%

There are 7 chairwomen. They are Wendy Becker (Logitech International SA), Daniela Bosshardt-Hengartner (Galenica AG), Nayla Hayek (The Swatch Group Ltd.), Ursula Nold (Migros-Genossenschafts-Bund), Monika Ribar (SBB Schweizerische Bundesbahnen) Suzanne Thoma (Sulzer) and Esther von Ziegler (ZFV-Unternehmungen). The share of women among the chairmen and chairwomen remains at 7%.

At 20%, there are also relatively few foreign chairmen and chairwomen. Among the new chairmen and chairwomen, 11% are foreigners (2022: 8%). 9% (9) of chairmen and chairwomen were new to their companies.

Nationality of CEOs and Chairmen and Chairwomen

Nationality of Foreign CEOs

Among the 122 CEOs, 78 (64%) hold a Swiss passport. The 16 Germans (36%) represent the largest group of foreign CEOs, as they do on the executive boards. The 6 American CEOs are the second largest group (14%). The 4 French and Dutch CEOs (9%) come in third. The Austrian CEOs place fourth with 3. Then come Italy and South Africa, each with 2 representatives (5% each). Among the 18 newly appointed CEOs, 11 (61%) are Swiss, while this figure was 50% in the previous year. In addition, 2 of the new CEOs are appointed this year from Germany, 1 from France, 1 from Austria, 1 from Singapore, 1 from Spain and 1 from Italy.

Nationality of Foreign Chairmen and Chairwomen

The percentage of Swiss chairmen and chairwomen is higher than that of Swiss CEOs. While 78 (64%) of the 122 CEOs are Swiss, 77 (80%) of the 96 chairmen and chairwomen hold a Swiss passport. The 6 Germans represent the largest group, representing 32% of all foreign chairmen and chairwomen. They are followed by Belgians and U.S. Americans with each 2 (11%) chairmen and chairwomen. The foreign chairmen and chairwomen represent 12 different countries, i.e. most countries are represented just once. A similar pattern can be observed in past years.

Experience of CEOs and Chairmen and Chairwomen

CEOs

Experience of the CEOs	Overall Sample		New
Size of the sample	122	100%	18	100%
CEO recruited internally	84	69%	12	67%
CEO recruited from outside	38	31%	6	33%

Of the CEOs, 69% (2022: 66%) worked at the company before being appointed. At 33% (2021: 36%), this figure is slighlty lower for the new CEOs.

Average experience of the CEOs	As CEO	On the Current EB	At the company
Overall sample	4 years
Internally recruited CEOs	5 years	9 years	21 years
Externally recruited CEOs	3 years

On average, the CEOs have held the position for 4 years. Internally recruited CEOs have been at the company an average of 21 years, were appointed to the executive board after an average of 12 years, and as CEO after 5 years.

Chairmen and Chairwomen

Experience of the Chairmen and Chairwomen	Overall Sample		New
Size of the sample	96	100%	9	100%
Internally recruited chairman or chairwoman	71	74%	7	78%
Externally recruited chairman or chairwoman	25	26%	2	22%
Member of the same SB beforehand	44	61%	7	78%
Previously CEO of the company	20	28%	-	-
Previously on the EB of the company	8	11%	-	-

Prior to their appointment, 74% (2022: 74%) of chairmen and chairwomen worked in operations for the same company or sat on its supervisory board. Just 26% (2022: 26%) of the chairmen and chairwomen were appointed from outside the company. A total of 61% (2022: 64%) were on the supervisory board, 28% of them were CEOs (2022: 26%) and/or 11% (2022: 10%) were members of the executive board, prior to their appointment as chairmen and chairwomen. Among the newly appointed chairmen and chairwomen, 78% (2022: 64%) were already on the supervisory board.

Average Experience of the Chairmen and Chairwomen	As Chairmen or Chairwomen	On the Current SB	At the Company
Overall Sample	6 years
Previously member of this SB	7 years	11 years	22 years
Externally recruited chairmen or chairwomen	5 years

On average, chairmen and chairwomen have been in the post for 6 years, while the average is 7 years for internally recruited chairmen and chairwomen. Those chairmen and chairwomen who were already supervisory board members have held seats on the current board an average of 11 years, and those who worked in operations beforehand have been at the company an average of 22 years. The externally recruited chairmen and chairwomen have held the office 5 years on average.

7.2 SMI Companies

The blue-chip SMI is Switzerland’s most important stock-market index and includes the 20 largest SPI (Swiss Performance Index) stocks. The SMI accounts for around 85% of the total capitalisation of the Swiss stock market. SMI companies are the leaders in internationalisation, but also in other areas. The SMI companies are analysed as a separate subgroup to identify important trends in relation to the future evolution of Swiss management boards.

Composition of SMI Executive Boards

Composition of the SMI EB	Overall Sample		New
Number of companies	20
Total EB members	176	100%	33	100%
Number of women	43	24%	11	33%
Number of men	133	76%	22	67%
Number of Swiss members	44	25%	5	15%
Number of foreigners	132	75%	28	85%
Number of new members	33	19%
Number of SMI CEOs	20	100%	2	100%
Number of Swiss members	8	40%	2	100%
Number of foreigners	12	60%	-	-
Number of new members	2	10%

At SMI companies, the share of women on executive boards increased by 10 percentage points over 9 years, from 3% in 2006 to 8% for the first time in 2013. After falling to 6% in 2014 and stagnating for two years, it has been rising again since 2017 and reached 10% in 2019. Last year, SMI companies increased the share of women on executive boards to 19%. Currently, SMI companies fill 33% of vacant executive board positions with women (2022: 45%), thus increasing the share to 24%, which is 5 percentage points above the overall sample (19%).

While the percentage of foreigners on the executive boards of SMI companies peaked at 68% in 2013, it fell to 65% in 2014, and remained at 63% from 2015 to 2018, rising again to 65% in 2019. In 2020 and 2021, SMI companies recorded a slightly higher figure of 67% and currently reach a peak of 75% – three quarters of SMI executive board members do not hold a Swiss passport. Therefore, the composition of executive boards at SMI companies tends to be much more international than the overall sample (47%). An interesting trend has developed regarding CEOs at SMI companies. 7 years ago, the percentage of foreigners among SMI chief executives was 71%. 6 years ago, it dropped to 55%, 4 years reached 45%. Currently, SMI companies also record 60% CEOs with foreign passports.

Composition of SMI Supervisory Boards

Composition of the SMI SB	Overall Sample		New
Number of companies	20
Total SB members	215	100%	26	100%
Number of women	73	34%	14	54%
Number of men	142	66%	12	46%
Number of Swiss members	87	40%	8	31%
Number of foreigners	128	60%	18	69%
Number of new members	26	12%
Number of SMI SB Members	20	100%	2	100%
Number of Swiss members	12	60%	1	50%
Number of foreigners	8	40%	1	50%
Number of new members	2	10%

Of the samples examined, SMI supervisory boards have the highest share of women with 34%. This is 4 percentage points higher than the previous year. This is explained by the number of women among new SMI supervisory board members, which is 54%. The percentage of foreigners on the SMI supervisory boards has decreased by 1 percentage point compared to the previous year and lies currently at 60%. The percentage of newly appointed SMI supervisory board members who are foreigners is now 69%, while last year it was 60%. Of the 20 SMI chairmen and chairwomen, 12 hold a Swiss passport, or 60%.

Nationality of SMI Management Boards

Nationality of foreign Supervisory Board Members

With 53 members, the Anglo-Saxon countries (U.S., GB, AUS and CAN) make up 40%, or more than a third of the 132 foreigners on SMI executive boards. With 22 members (17%), Germany is in second place after the U.S., which represents 25% (33 members) and before Great Britain with 13% (17 members). France is fourth with 10% (13 members). This picture is different among the new SMI executive board members: 21% of the new foreign SMI executive board members are from Great Britain or the U.S. (each 6 members). The new foreign members also include 3 from Germany, and each 2 (each 7%) from France, the Netherlands and Spain. A comparison of the overall sample with that of the SMI shows that German managers play a minor role in SMI companies, while they clearly dominate among foreigners in the overall sample.

Nationality of foreign SMI Supervisory Board Members

The picture is somewhat similar on SMI supervisory boards. At 39%, the 50 Anglo-Saxons (U.S., GB, CAN and AUS) also represent the dominant percentage of the 128 foreigners, the largest group among them being the 33 U.S. citizens, representing 26%. The 17 German members are the second largest group with 13%, and the 11 British members are the third largest with 9%, closely followed by the 7 French members, who represent 5%. Among the 18 newly appointed foreign SMI supervisory board members, the 3 Chinese are the largest group, followed by the Germans, the Americans and the Malaysians with each 2 (12%) persons. Another 8 countries are each represented by 1 (6%) new member.

Areas of Responsibilities of SMI Executive Board Members

Executive board members are divided into business and service functions in the survey. The business function includes all sales-related positions at the company and/or all functions in the company’s core business, such as sales, marketing responsibilities, research and development, and production. The service function includes all positions that play a supporting role at the company and have no direct impact on sales, such as human resources and communication.

	Areas of Responsibility of SMI EB Members				Areas of Responsibility of New SMI EB Members
	Business Function		Service Function		Business Function		Service Function
Overall Sample	120	68%	56	32%	23	70%	10	30%
Men	102	77%	31	23%	18	82%	4	18%
Women	18	42%	25	58%	5	45%	6	55%

While 68% of SMI executive board members have a business function, the figure for new members is 70%. The number of all SMI executive board members is above the overall sample (77% and 79%). Among female SMI executive board members, 42% have a business function, while 45% of the new female members do.

Experience of SMI Board Members

Executive Boards

Experience of the SMI EB Members	Overall Sample		New
Size of the sample	176		33
Worked at the company beforehand	102	60%	16	48%
Sat on another EB beforehand	37	21%	5	15%
Worked at the company and sat on another EB beforehand	7	4%	-	-
No prior experience at the company or on another EB	29	15%	12	36%

A total of 60% of the SMI executive board members worked at the company prior to joining the board. Among executive board members, 21% had sat on another executive board prior to being appointed, while 15% had no relevant experience at the same company or another executive board. Among the new SMI executive board members, 36% (2022: 21%) had no relevant experience at the same company or on another executive board.

Average Experience of SMI EB Members	On the Current EB	At the Company	At the Company before joining the EB
Overall sample	4 years
Worked at the company beforehand	4 years	17 years	13 years
Worked at the company and sat on another EB beforehand	5 years	11 years	6 years
Sat on another EB beforehand	4 years
No prior experience at the company or on another EB	2 years

An analysis of the length of service of executive board members reveals that internally promoted SMI managers have to work longer at the company, an average of 13 years, before being appointed to the board than those in the overall sample, who are appointed after just 12 years. SMI executive board members have 17 years of experience at the company on average, compared to 17 years in the overall sample. SMI executive management board members with external executive management experience – even if only at an SME – join the management board after 4 years on average.

Supervisory Boards

Average Experience of SMI SB Members	On the Current SB	At the Company	At the Company before joining the SB
Overall sample	5 years
Worked at the company beforehand	8 years	20 years	12 years

Internally recruited SMI supervisory board members have worked an average of 20 years at the company and were appointed to the supervisory board after 12 years. The average SMI supervisory board member has held the post for 5 years, which is the same as in the overall sample.

Experience of the SMI SB Members	Overall Sample		New
Worked at the company beforehand	22	10%	2	8%
CEO at the company beforehand	8	36%	-	-
EB member beforehand	7	32%	2	100%
EB member and CEO beforehand	1	5%	-	-
Neither EB member nor CEO beforehand	6	27%	-	-

A total of 215 SMI supervisory board members were surveyed this year. 10% of these members had already been working for the company before joining the board. Of these, 36% were previously CEO, 32% were on the executive board, and 5% had been both executive board members and CEOs. Of all of the 215 supervisory board members, 10% sat on the executive board of another company included in the schillingreport before their current appointment. In addition, 6 members simultaneously sit on 2 SMI supervisory boards and hold a total of 12 seats.

Gender Diversity Pipeline of the SMI Companies

11 out of the 20 SMI companies took part in the survey, which represents an above-average participation rate of 55%. SMI companies have an average share of women in their workforce of 42%, which is 5 percentage points higher than in the overall sample and an increase of 6 percentage points compared to 2021. The share of women is 34% (2021: 26%) in middle management, and 26% in senior management (2021: 26%). The percentage at these hierarchical levels is higher than those in the overall sample (27% and 20% respectively). Women at SMI companies represent 23% (2021: 18%) of the executive board members, clearly above the share in the overall sample. All SMI companies are led by a man, which means that the share of women at the CEO level is 0%.

7.3 Enterprises Affiliated with the Swiss Confederation

The four major companies affiliated with the Swiss Confederation – Swiss Post, the defence manufacturer Ruag MRO, the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) and the telecommunications provider Swisscom – are among the largest employers in Switzerland. The results here are of special interest, because the federal administration wishes to take a leading role on matters of gender diversity. A survey of these companies also allows us to consider the impact on gender diversity of the politically established framework conditions in comparison to the overall sample.

On the executive boards of the four companies, 17% of the members are women, which is above average of the executive boards, and represents a 7 percentage points increase compared to 2021. Of the senior managers, 18% are women, which is slightly less than in the overall sample (20%). At the middle management level, the companies affiliated with the Swiss Confederation also lie behind the value of all surveyed companies, with a 16% share of women. Of the general workforce, 28% are women. Compared to 2021, the share of women has increased at the executive, middle management and general workforce levels.

7.4 Publicly Owned Companies

The cantons are also paying more and more attention to gender diversity, both in their own ranks as well as in associated companies. Therefore, we conduct a separate assessment of the share of women at these publicly owned companies. This sample consists of the federally-affiliated companies, the majority of the major utility companies and the larger cantonal banks, and other publicly controlled companies in the transport and financial sector. The sample covers a total of 23 companies.

At the publicly owned companies, 14% of executive board members are women, slightly less than in the overall sample. This reflects an increase of 2 percentage points over 2021. Among the senior managers at the publically owned companies, 14% are women (2021: 16%), which is fewer than in the survey’s overall sample (20%). In middle management, the share of women at the publicly owned companies is 25%. This is also less than in the overall sample, in which it is 27%.

7.5 Cantonal Banks in Comparison to other Banks

Cantonal banks are examined separately within the financial industry. A comparison with other banks allows us to determine the progress that cantonal banks are making on issues of gender diversity within the financial industry. The sample in this case consists of a total of 13 cantonal banks, the benchmark in terms of size being the 12 other participating financial institutions.

The general workforce of the cantonal banks surveyed consists of 49% women (2021: 46%). At the other banks, as in the overall sample, 35% of the employees are women (2021: 38%). At the cantonal banks, the share of women increased to 27% (2021: 25%) in middle management. At the other financial institutions, the share is 25% (2021: 16%), which is similar to the cantonal banks. The executive boards at the cantonal banks are 9% female, which is below the amount in the overall sample (14%) and at the other banks (20%).

Interviews

Marco Gadola

«Knowledge has a much shorter half-life today – and this will continue to accentuate»

Marco Gadola
(schillingreport 2023)

go to interview

Cornelia Komposch

«Appreciation towards employees is a fundamental requirement for a well-functioning administration» 
 

Cornelia Komposch
(schillingreport 2023)

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Michel M. Liès

«We foster an inclusive workplace culture and caring environment to attract and retain employees of all generations»

Michel M. Liès
(schillingreport 2023)

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Ursula Nold

«A diverse and varied general workforce at all levels enhances the competitiveness of companies»

Ursula Nold
(schillingreport 2023)

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Michael Rechsteiner

«Complementary diversity in any form and constructive teamwork are highly important on the supervisory board»

Michael Rechsteiner
(schillingreport 2023)

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Michael Süss

«With our products we contribute to better sustainability worldwide»

Michael Süss
(schillingreport 2023)

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Overview of the Companies Included in the Report

Companies	Private Sector	Gender-Diversity-Pipeline (sr2023)	Companies	Private Sector	Gender-Diversity-Pipeline (sr2023)
Aargauische Kantonalbank		•	Kuros Biosciences AG
ABB Ltd.	•		LafargeHolcim Ltd.	•	•
ABB Schweiz AG	•		Landis+Gyr AG	•	•
Actelion Pharmaceuticals Ltd.			Leclanché SA
Addex Therapeutics			LEM Holding SA
Adecco Management & Consulting SA	•		Leonteq AG		•
Adval Tech Holding AG			Liebherr-International AG
AEVIS VICTORIA SA	•		Liechtensteinische Landesbank		•
Airesis SA			Logitech International SA	•
Alcon Switzerland	•		Lonza Group AG	•
Allianz Suisse Gruppe	•	•	Luzerner Kantonalbank AG		•
Allreal Holding AG			Magazine zum Globus AG		•
Alpiq Holding AG		•	Manor AG	•
ALSO Holding AG			McDonald's Suisse Holding SA	•	•
Aluflexpack AG			MCH Group AG
AMAG Automobil- und Motoren AG		•	Medartis AG
APG SGA SA		•	Meier Tobler AG		•
Appenzeller Kantonalbank		•	Metall Zug Gruppe
Arbonia AG	•		Mettler-Toledo Holding AG	•
ARYZTA AG	•		Meyer Burger Technology AG
Ascom (Holding) AG		•	Micarna SA
Autoneum Holding AG	•		Migros-Genossenschafts-Bund	•	•
AXA Winterthur	•	•	Mikron Holding AG
Axpo Holding AG	•	•	Mobilezone AG		•
Bachem Holding AG			Mobimo Holding AG
Bâloise Holding AG	•	•	Molecular Partners AG
Baloise Versicherung AG		•	Montana Tech Components AG
Banca dello Stato del Cantone Ticino			Mövenpick Holding AG	•
Bank Cler			Myriad Group AG
Bank Linth LLB AG		•	Nestlé S.A.	•	•
Banque Cantonale de Fribourg			Nidwaldner Kantonalbank
Banque Cantonale de Genève			Novartis AG	•	•
Banque Cantonale du Jura AG		•	Obwaldner Kantonalbank
Banque Cantonale Neuchâteloise			OC Oerlikon Corporation AG	•
Banque Cantonale Vaudoise AG		•	Octapharma AG
Barry Callebaut AG	•		Orascom Development Holding AG
Basellandschaftliche Kantonalbank		•	Orell Füssli Holding AG		•
Basilea Pharmaceutica AG		•	Orior AG
Basler Kantonalbank			Panalpina Welttransport (Holding) AG
Belimo Holding AG			Partners Group Holding AG	•	•
Bell Food Group AG	•	•	Peach Property Group AG
Bell Schweiz AG		•	Phoenix Mecano AG	•	•
Bellevue Group AG			Planzer Transport AG		•
Bergbahnen Engelberg-Trübsee-Titlis AG			Plazza Immobilien
Berner Kantonalbank		•	PostFinance AG	•
BKW Energie AG	•	•	PricewaterhouseCoopers	•	•
BLS-Gruppe	•	•	Privatklinikgruppe Hirslanden	•	•
Bobst Group	•		PSP Swiss Property AG
Bossard AG			Raiffeisen Schweiz	•	•
Alpiq InTec Gruppe	•		Rehau GmbH		•
Bucher Industries AG	•	•	Rieter Holding AG	•	•
Bühler AG	•	•	Ringier Holding AG	•
Burckhardt Compression Holding AG			Romande Energie Holding SA
Burkhalter Holding AG	•	•	RUAG MRO Holding AG	•
BVZ Holding AG		•	Ruag Holding AG
Calida Holding AG		•	Santhera Pharmaceuticals Holding AG
Carlo Gavazzi Holding AG			SBB Cargo AG	•	•
Cembra Money Bank AG			Schaffhauser Kantonalbank
Chocoladefabriken Lindt & Sprüngli AG	•		Schaffner Holding AG		•
Cicor Technologies Group			Schindler Holding AG	•	•
Clariant AG	•		Schlatter Holding AG		•
Coca-Cola HBC	•	•	Schweiter Technologies AG
Coltène Holding AG			Schweizerische Bundesbahnen SBB	•	•
Comet Holding AG			Schweizerische Mobiliar Versicherungsgesellschaft AG	•	•
Compagnie Financière Richemont SA	•		Schweizerische Nationalbank		•
Compagnie financière Tradition			Schwyzer Kantonalbank
Coop Genossenschaft	•		Securitas AG Schweizerische Bewachungsgesellschaft
CPH Chemie + Papier Holding AG		•	Selecta Management AG
Crealogix Holding AG			Sensirion AG
Credit Suisse Group AG	•	•	SFS Holding AG	•
Credit Suisse (Schweiz) AG	•	•	SGS SA	•
CSS Gruppe	•	•	Siegfried Holding AG
Dätwyler Holding AG	•		Siemens Schweiz AG	•
Denner AG	•	•	Siemens Schweiz AG, Building Technologies	•
Die Schweizerische Post	•	•	SIG Holding Ltd.	•	•
DKSH Holding AG	•	•	Sika AG	•
dormakaba International Holding AG	•	•	SIX Group AG	•	•
Dosenbach-Ochsner AG			SoftwareOne
Dufry AG	•		Sonova Holding AG	•	•
Edisun Power Europe AG			SR Technics Group	•
EFG International AG			SRG SSR	•
Elma Electronic AG		•	St. Galler Kantonalbank		•
Emil Frey Gruppe			Stadler Rail AG	•	•
Emmi AG	•	•	Starrag Group Holding AG
EMS-CHEMIE HOLDING AG	•		Straumann Holding AG	•
Endress + Hauser AG	•		Sulzer AG	•
Ernst & Young AG			Sunrise Communications AG
ETA SA Manufacture Horlogère Suisse			Suva	•	•
Evolva Holding AG			SV (Schweiz) AG		•
F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG	•	•	SV Group AG	•	•
Feintool International Holding AG			Swiss Finance & Property Investment AG		•
fenaco	•	•	Swiss International Air Lines AG	•
Firmenich SA	•	•	Swiss Life Holding	•
Flughafen Zürich AG			Swiss Life Schweiz	•
Forbo International SA	•		Swiss Prime Site	•	•
Franke Holding AG	•	•	Swiss Re	•
Frutiger AG	•	•	Swiss Steel Group	•
Galenica AG	•	•	Swisscom AG	•	•
GAM Holding AG			Swissport International Ltd.	•
gategroup	•		Swissquote Group Holding AG
Geberit AG	•	•	Syngenta AG	•
Generali (Schweiz) Holding AG		•	TX Group (ehem. Tamedia AG)	•	•
Georg Fischer AG	•	•	Tecan Group AG		•
Givaudan SA	•		Temenos Group AG		•
Glarner Kantonalbank			Tetra Laval Group	•
Glas Trösch Holding AG	•		The Swatch Group Ltd.	•
Glencore plc	•		Thurgauer Kantonalbank		•
Goldbach Group AG			Triumph International Spiesshofer & Braun
Graubündner Kantonalbank		•	u-blox Holding AG
Groupe Minoteries SA			UBS AG	•	•
Gurit Holding AG			UBS Switzerland AG	•	•
Helsana Versicherungen AG	•	•	Urner Kantonalbank		•
Helvetia Gruppe	•	•	V-Zug	•
Helvetia Schweiz		•	Valartis Group AG
HIAG Immobilien Holding AG		•	Valiant Holding AG
Highlight Event & Entertainment AG			Valora Holding AG	•
HOCHDORF Holding AG			VAT Group AG
Holcim (Schweiz) AG			Vaudoise Assurances Holding SA
Huber + Suhner	•	•	Vebego International B.V.		•
Hügli Holding AG			Vebego Schweiz Holding AG	•	•
Hypothekarbank Lenzburg AG			Vetropack Holding AG
IBM Schweiz AG	•	•	Vifor Pharma Management AG
Idorsia Pharmaceuticals Ltd.			Villars Holding S.A.
Implenia AG	•	•	Von Roll Holding AG
Inficon Holding AG			Vontobel Holding AG
Interroll Holding AG			VP Bank AG
Intershop Holding AG			VZ Holding AG
Investis Holding AG			Walliser Kantonalbank		•
ISS Holding AG	•		Warteck Invest AG		•
IVF HARTMANN AG		•	WISeKey International Holding Ltd
Jet Aviation Management AG	•		Ypsomed Holding AG		•
JOWA AG			Zehnder Group AG		•
JUMBO	•		ZFV-Unternehmungen	•	•
Julius Bär Gruppe AG	•	•	Züblin Immobilien Holding AG
Jungfraubahn Holding AG			Zug Estates Holding AG		•
Kardex AG		•	Zuger Kantonalbank
Klingelnberg AG			Zürcher Kantonalbank	•	•
Komax Holding AG		•	Zurich Insurance Group	•	•
Kudelski SA			Zürich Versicherungs-Gesellschaft AG	•	•
Kühne + Nagel International AG	•		Zur Rose		•

Abbreviations

AG	Aktiengesellschaft (joint stock company)	Ltd.	Limited
CEO	Chief Executive Officer	NCC	Nomination and Compensation Committee
CFO	Chief Financial Officer	plc	Public Limited Company
EB	Executive Board	SB	Supervisory Board
EU	European Union	SME	Small and medium-sized enterprises
HR	Human Resources	SMI	Swiss Market Index
i.e.	id est	SPI	Swiss Performance Index

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