Is the quota for women an annoying but necessary crutch for professional success? Do women really still have to come out, talk about their gender and explain their reasons? Although the women’s quota triggered a debate and a new dynamic on the supervisory and administrative boards, the revolutionary change in the executive suites, especially on the boards, has not occurred. Is it because of the structures or perhaps because of the women themselves? In Germany, a quota of 30% for women was passed in 2015; in France, a proportion of women of 40% has been a legal reality since 2011. In France, fines of up to €90,000 are due for non-compliance with the quotas.

In Spain, however, the anti-quota country par excellence, career women are still a rarity. So far there is no party that has initiated the quota law. Quality, it is said, prevails – and not quota. There are many outdated clichés circulating that women are not competitive or assertive enough and are thus hitting the infamous glass ceiling in the male-established executive suites. The three top managers Anka Wittenberg, Senior Vice President of SAP Germany, Fanny Letier, Executive Director of the investment bank Bpifrance and Maria Luisa de Contes, General Secretary and Chief Legal Officer of Renault Spain, provide deep insights into their everyday lives, both professionally and privately, and speak openly about where we stand today as a European society on the issue of equal opportunities and discrimination based on gender.

Director: Marita Neher
Script: Marita Neher
Camera: Lotta Kilian, Yousif Al-Chalabi
Editing: Kathrin Krottenthaler, Hanna Bergfors
Music: Hans Hafner
Sound: Moritz Kerst, Carsten Kramer
Editorial Staff: Kathrin Brinkmann (ZDF/arte)
Production: Andrea Ufer
Stations: arte (Erstausstrahlung 06.03.2018)
With: Maria Luisa de Contes, Fanny Letier, Anka Wittenberg