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Several justice ministers from the federal states are campaigning for the early introduction of statutory family time for top managers.
Board members of listed companies should be able to take a break from work in the event of pregnancy or illness in order to reconcile family and work - according to a "Handelsblatt" report, the department heads of North Rhine-Westphalia, Hamburg, Saxony and Saarland demand it.
The justice ministers' conference of the federal states will deal on Thursday with the initiative to enable the compatibility of family and career by law at the management level of corporations and cooperatives.
"Current law does not even allow women to become pregnant as a board member of a stock corporation without incurring liability risks vis-à-vis creditors or shareholders," said North Rhine-Westphalia Justice Minister Peter Biesenbach (CDU) the "Handelsblatt".
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Parents who take care of their offspring after the birth also have to worry about their liability if they work in a managerial position.
"This legal status is unacceptable for a family-friendly, equal society and urgently needs to be reformed," said Biesenbach.
"A modern board and management law would not only be contemporary, but also a real location factor in an international comparison."
According to the states, the rules should not only affect public companies.
"Also GmbH managers and board members of cooperatives should be recorded", said the Saxon Justice Minister Katja Meier (Greens) of the business newspaper.
“The regulation should also not only extend to maternity leave, but also to childcare and nursing leave.” For Hamburg Senator for Justice Anna Gallina (Greens), the goal is also to get more women into management positions.
Specifically, it is about a "right to a temporary suspension of the mandate without liability risk and with the automatic resurgence of the board office", explained the Saarland Justice State Secretary Roland Theis (CDU).
"We are not only paving the way for women and men not to have to choose between having a child and a career," he told the "Handelsblatt".
"This also sets an example in companies and society and makes our country more child-friendly."