Hundreds of top female journalists in Germany are demanding the introduction of a quota to ensure at least 30% of all executive positions across the whole German media industry are filled by women.

In a letter sent to around 250 editors and publishers across the country, the signatories from the Pro Quote campaign claimed that at present only 2% of all editor-in-chiefs of 360 German daily and weekly newspapers are women. Just three of the 12 bosses of the public service broadcasters are women, said the letter, with the highest echelons of news magazines are "almost exclusively" filled by men.

"It's time to change that," said the group. "We demand that within the next five years, at least 30% of the executive jobs in editorial departments should be filled by women – and on all levels of the hierarchy. Can you manage that?"

Anne Will, one of Germany's foremost political chat show hosts, said the paucity of women in top editorial jobs demonstrated a "catastrophic failure". Without a quota, "clearly nothing will change", she said in support on Pro Quote.

The letter was prompted in part by the introduction last year of a 30% quota of women at Handelsblatt, a well-respected financial daily. "Women are not the problem, but the solution," said Gabor Steingart, the male editor-in-chief, when he announced the initiative. "It's not just about fairness but it also makes economic sense."

In 2010, Deutsche Telekom became the first company listed on the Dax stock exchange to introduce a 30% quota.

Sandra Maischberger, a prominent TV presenter, said of the quota: "A few years ago, I was still completely convinced that it was only a matter of time before the glaring absence of women in the executive class in our industry would be rectified. In some areas – for example, at [public broadcaster] ARD, which is now run by a woman – some things have changed. But there is lot still to be done.

"Sometimes, when a new replacement is being sought for a position you do shake your head thinking, why not bring a capable woman into the team rather than always opting for the typical type of man who promises the moon?"

Dagmar Engel, long-serving editor-in-chief of Deutsche Welle, Germany's equivalent of the BBC World Service, offered a concise message of support. "Look at me," she said. "It works."

Ines Pohl, editor of the leftwing newspaper taz, is a rare example of a woman at the helm of a German daily newspaper. She said she was given the job because her newspaper aimed to promote women.

"Don't be afraid of quotas. I'm a quota woman. For me it's no problem. Because of taz's women target, I have been able to finally show what I'm made of. I'm sure the same would be true for many other women," she wrote on the Pro Quote site.

Pohl told the Guardian on Monday that at least half of the taz editorial team has to be filled by women, with the same stipulation for executive roles. More radically, the editor-in-chief must always be a woman, supported by two deputies, one male and one female.

Women quotas have become a hot topic in Germany after the work minister, Ursula von der Leyen, called last year for quotas of women for all company boards.

Von der Leyen's call in January 2011 was printed in Der Spiegel, which ran a cover feature admitting that at that point more of its section editors were gay men than women. The gender balance has reportedly improved over the last year.

Responding to the letter on Monday, the Süddeutsche Zeitung said only two of its 22 section editors are women, although women make up half of the editorial department.

In December, the Guardian journalist Kira Cochrane caused a stir after calculating that in a typical month, 78% of British newspaper articles are written by men, 72% of Question Time contributors are men and 84% of reporters and guests on Radio 4's Today show are men.