Business · Companies · 6 hrs ago
Pay gap between German listed-company executives nearly closed in 2025
In 2025, women executives at major German listed companies earned almost as much as men.
Across the DAX, MDAX and SDAX, women board members who were not chief executives earned an average of €2.20 million, while men averaged €2.23 million.
The average pay gap narrowed from €121,000 the year before to €26,000.
There were 101 women on the boards for the full year, up from 88 in 2024 and 33 in 2013.
Women made up just over one in four board members counted, and their share was highest in the DAX.
Pay patterns differed by index: the gap narrowed in the DAX but widened in the MDAX and SDAX.
EY’s expert said pay depends more on role, experience and company size than on gender, and expects the gap to narrow over time in the smaller indexes too.
Female executives at Germany’s largest listed companies earned an average of €2.20 million in 2025, up 2.4% from the previous year.
Male executives earned an average of €2.23 million, nearly 2% less than a year earlier.
The average pay gap narrowed from €121,000 to €26,000, according to an EY study.
The study counted 101 women who served on executive boards for the full year, up from 88 in 2024.
Pay trends differed across the Dax, MDax and SDax, with the gap narrowing in the Dax but widening in the other two indices.
- Who
- Female and male executive board members at companies in Germany’s Dax, MDax and SDax. Chief executives were excluded from the pay comparison.
- What
- The average pay gap narrowed to €26,000 in 2025, as women’s average pay rose and men’s fell.
- When
- 2025; the report was published on November 8, 2026.
- Where
- Companies in Germany’s Dax, MDax and SDax.
- Why
- EY said pay depends more on role, experience and company size than on gender, as the number of women on boards has grown.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
The average pay gap between male and female executives was €121,000.
Women’s average pay rose 2.4% to €2.20 million, while men’s average pay fell nearly 2% to €2.23 million.
EY counted 101 women who served on executive boards for the full year, compared with 88 in 2024.
Articles reported the findings of an EY study.
- Women’s average pay
- €2.20 million in 2025
- Men’s average pay
- €2.23 million in 2025
- Pay gap
- €26,000 in 2025, down from €121,000
- Women board members
- 101 served for the full year in 2025
- Dax women’s average pay
- €3.04 million, up more than 4%
- MDax women’s average pay
- €1.59 million, up 4%
2 sources
What people are saying
Today the group is much larger. Pay therefore depends more on role, experience and company size, and less on gender.
The gap has therefore narrowed from €121,000 to €26,000.