According to the survey, 3.25 percent of companies with a male director go bankrupt – in comparison, only 1.61 per cent of companies with a woman director do so. Companies who are headed by two men experience insolvency even more frequently (3.52 percent). In contrast, only 2.68 percent of the companies concerned with two women in charge suffer insolvency. Companies with an all-female management board are also more financially successful than mixed-gender equivalents.
"Advocates for more women in management positions will be pleased with this result. It shows quite clearly that companies who are managed by one or more women are more profitable," explained Boris Recsey, CEO of CRIF Austria. "In terms of equity capitalization of the surveyed companies, the management structures are balanced, relatively speaking – the equity ratio in companies run by men stands at around 35.3 per cent and those in ones run by women is 35.9 percent."
Austria's business landscape dominated by men
Women remain underrepresented on an executive level domestically: in Austria, more than half of all companies are led by one or more male directors. In addition, women sit on the management board of only 14 large companies, whilst 1157 large companies are headed by men. But even within small- and medium-sized enterprises, male bosses dominate – despite the fact that (proportionately) twice as many male-run small businesses need to file for bankruptcy.
Women at the top, especially in the social and health sectors and in trade
Looking at the sectors where women generally hold the reins, the following ranking is found: "Most companies which are active in the social and health sectors have a female management board, followed by trade and auto maintenance and repair. In a close third place is the provision of services; however, in numerous companies whose focus is on the provision of professional, scientific and technical services, there are women at the forefront. Tourism, i.e. the hotel and food business, also has a large number of female managers," explained Recsey.
A comparison of federal states: Lower Austria and Burgenland leading the way
In comparing federal states, it is clear that Lower Austria and Burgenland are pioneers when it comes to filling management positions with women: 35 percent of companies in Lower Austria and 33 percent in Burgenland's are headed by women. In third place is Salzburg, with around 32 percent of businesses run by women, followed by Carinthia and Styria (each at around 31 percent), Vienna (around 30 percent), Vorarlberg (around 29 percent) and Upper Austria (around 27 percent). Tyrol lags behind with regard to other Austrian federal states, bringing up the rear: there, just under 25 percent of the businesses are run by women.
About the study
The number of insolvent companies refers to all Austrian companies for which insolvency proceedings were opened in the period from 01.01.2012 to 01.01.2015. For these companies, the gender of the authorized signatories was used, referring to signatories that were active either at the time when the insolvency proceedings were opened or in the previous year.
The total number of active companies was taken on 01.01.2015. All companies noted in CRIF's database as being active on that date were considered in the calculation. For these companies, the gender of the authorized signatories active at the time of the calculation was used.
