Future of equality: Start of the LeadHERship Conference 2025 in Vienna

Future of equality: Start of the LeadHERship Conference 2025 in Vienna

On November 11, 2025, a glittering pre-dinner for the Future of LeadHERship conference took place at The Hoxton Vienna. An illustrious group of entrepreneurs, investors and leaders met to discuss the challenges and opportunities of equality in the modern world of work. The event marked the start of a conference that is considered an important platform for modern leadership and equality in German-speaking countries. Every year they attract more than 500 guests from business, the HR industry and the start-up scene.

The opening speech was given by Vada Prosquill, the founder of the female business club Leaders in Heels. She emphasized the need for a common understanding of lived equality in the world of work, which was also the main message of the event. Among the guests were the fashion designer Marina Hoermanseder as well as investor Ben Ruschin and Eugen Prosquill, CEO of Warda Network GmbH. This provided interesting insights into marketing trends for 2026, while Monika Sternathova from Erste Group focused on financial education as the key to women's empowerment.

The challenge of the gender gap

Despite progress, the proportion of women in leadership positions in 2025 will continue to lag behind their male colleagues. According to a study by WHU scientists citing WHU, it remains a challenge to get more women into senior positions and keep them there. The study examines both gender-neutral and gender-specific measures to support women in leadership roles. These include, among others:

• Gender-neutrale Maßnahmen: Transparente Rekrutierungsprozesse, anonyme Bewerbungsverfahren und Schulungen zur Sensibilisierung für unbewusste Vorurteile.
• Gender-sensible Maßnahmen: Mentoring-Programme, Frauenförderprogramme und Netzwerkveranstaltungen zur Vernetzung von Frauen.

These approaches are particularly important for closing the gender gap in the workforce structure and promoting equality in the corporate world.

Legal framework

In order to counteract these challenges, the Leadership Positions Act (FüPoG) was introduced, which has been intended to increase the proportion of women in leadership positions in both the private and public sectors since it was passed on May 1, 2015. Current regulations of this law and its amendment (FüPoG II) show that the legal pressure to promote equality is increasing and companies are obliged to comply with minimum quotas. For listed companies, for example, the introduction of a minimum proportion of 30% women on supervisory boards has become mandatory since January 1, 2016, which encourages companies to set clear targets and report their implementation, as the information from BMBF.

The current framework conditions and measures show that there is still a lot to do at the management level to achieve sustainable changes. The Future of LeadHERship Conference 2025 offers the ideal space to address these important topics and provide new impetus for equality for women in the world of work.