Word: womening
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...These statistics are unacceptable to many German women, who applaud Deutsche Telekom's attempts to level the playing field. But the initiative doesn't mean the telecom giant has gone soft and discovered feminism - the company says the move just makes good business sense. Women comprise around 60% of all business graduates from German universities today and the company says it can't afford to miss out on this pool of talent. On top of that, Deutsche Telekom cites recent studies pointing to the profitability of companies that have women managers. "Taking on more women in management positions...
...Whatever the company's motivations, the quota is still an audacious move for Europe's biggest telecom group - part of recent efforts to shake off its old-fashioned image and revamp its operations for the 21st century. Women currently only occupy 12% of the management positions at Deutsche Telekom offices in Germany - and none of the positions on the eight-member executive committee. In order to recruit more women managers, the company says it plans to introduce more flexible working hours and part-time positions, as well as expand its parental leave schemes and child-care services. It has also...
...Deutsche Telekom's new policy is bound to send shockwaves through Germany's business community, which has thus far resisted calls for boardroom quotas. "We support the desire in society to have more women in leadership roles," says Werner Schnappauf, the head of Germany's Industry Federation, an umbrella organization of industrial companies and industry-related service providers. But he adds that instituting "rigid legal requirements, like a quota, are not a suitable method." The move is also likely to anger more than a few people at Deutsche Telekom, Wenders says. "Some male employees may worry that they'll have...
...Gender quotas are new to Germany but they've been implemented elsewhere. After a heated debate, Norway passed a controversial law in 2003 requiring that 40% of all board members of publicly listed companies had to be women. The measure paid off: company boards went from just 7% female in 2003 to 40% in January 2008. Spain, the Netherlands and France are now planning similar laws. Sweden doesn't have a quota system, but it has introduced other measures to help women combine work and family life, such as tax cuts for household and child-care services and incentives...
...Only time will tell if Deutsche Telekom's quota will inspire other companies to enact similar policies - or push the government to implement more family friendly laws to help women break through the glass ceiling. Until then, Germany does have at least one high-powered woman calling the shots - the one they call Chancellor...