Berlin, Jan 8 (IANS): The number of female board members of listed companies in Germany climbed to a new high, as 94 of 700 of the total were women, according to a study published by consulting firm Ernst & Young (EY).

The number of female board members rose by 20 within a year as the share of female board members of German companies increased to 13.4 per cent, according to the study published on Friday.

One in two companies listed in Germany still did not have a single woman on their executive boards, down from 62 per cent a year ago, Xinhua news agency quoted the study as saying.

Only nine of the 160 companies surveyed had a woman as CEO.

"German boards are becoming more female, but the change is taking place very slowly," said Markus Heinen, head of people advisory services at EY Germany.

"If things were allowed to run their course, it would probably take decades before the board positions were half filled by men and half by women."

In order to get more women into management positions in the private sector, the German government passed an amendment to the country's management positions act last summer with binding targets to achieve equal rights in management.

Listed companies and companies with equal codetermination rights in Germany will have to appoint at least one woman to the management board if their management board consists of more than three people, according to the Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth.