East Germans in top jobs - the gap is only closing slowly

East Germans are still underrepresented in management positions, even if their share is slowly increasing. This is the conclusion of the so-called Elite Monitor conducted by the Universities of Leipzig, Jena and the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences. The latest data from the federally funded research project was presented at a conference on diversity in top positions in Germany.

Percentage rises from 10.9 to 12.1 percent

According to the monitor, the proportion of East Germans in top jobs rose from 10.9 percent in 2018 to 12.1 percent at the end of 2024. However, according to the researchers, the proportion of East Germans in the overall population rose to 19.4 percent - so there is still a gap.

In addition, there are differences between the different areas of society: While more East Germans had made it into leadership positions in politics, there were slight declines in business, culture and security.

"It is good news that the proportion of East Germans in leadership positions increased between 2018 and 2024. This underlines how important it is to discuss the issue publicly," explained Elisabeth Kaiser, Federal Government Commissioner for Eastern Europe.

Federal government wants to drive development forward

The downside is that the increase can be significantly expanded and does not affect all areas of society. "The new federal government is clearly committed to increasing the proportion of East Germans in leadership positions in the federal administration, but also in other areas of society," emphasized Kaiser.

The so-called Elite Monitor looks at around 3,000 top positions in twelve socially significant areas and looks at the publicly available biographical data of the people who occupy these positions. The researchers also conduct interviews.