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Joe Kaeser becomes even more of a supporter of women.
During his time as CEO of Siemens AG, he supported women in their advancement in the group and internally set target quotas for women in upper management.
But now the 63-year-old is explicitly advocating a fixed statutory quota of women on the board of listed companies via Twitter.
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Kaeser is a prominent corporate leader who supports the recently reached agreement in principle of the black-red coalition on a binding quota for women on executive boards.
He is positioning himself against the criticism of the Federal Association of German Industry (BDI) or the employers' associations (BDA) of the new regulation.
According to the coalition resolution, the board members of listed companies with equal co-determination with more than three members must include a woman at the latest after a new appointment.
Federal Family Minister Franziska Giffey and Federal Minister of Justice Christine Lambrecht (both SPD) will take the decision on the so-called Leadership Positions Act shortly.
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The attitude of the Siemens boss does not come as a complete surprise.
Years ago, at a meeting of female managers, Kaeser was open to a statutory quota.
"But if the companies can't do it themselves, one should think in the direction of whether it shouldn't be regulated by law," was the key quote.
"Confident to achieve these goals"
Kaeser himself then came under fire when during his tenure there were only men on the Siemens AG Management Board, for example from January to October 2019, after the surprising departure of HR Director Janina Kugel.
In the meantime, both Siemens AG and the newly spun off Siemens Energy are fulfilling the planned legal requirements with one woman each on the board.
Kaeser's Twitter commitment to a statutory quota for women was in response to a short message from Maria Ferraro.
The Canadian is CFO at Siemens Energy and described herself as a quota woman in a Twitter message and gave reasons for this.
She is still viewed in disbelief when she says she is the chief financial officer of a publicly traded company, the manager said.
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Kaeser contradicts the quota woman evaluation.
She is one of the best and is a role model.
"Those who give you these looks are the main reason why a law had to be passed in Germany," argues Kaeser.
Siemens AG has pledged itself to have 20 percent women in the first two levels below the Executive Board by mid-2022.
"We are confident that we can achieve these goals," explains a spokeswoman.
Siemens Energy intends to have 30 percent women in upper management within ten years.
While the Berlin coalition has agreed on a quota for women, there is still criticism from business.
The Federal Association of Employers' Associations (BDA) says that statutory requirements are the wrong way to go, "because quotas ignore the causes of the different representation of women and men in management positions".