Women

in Management at Deutsche Telekom

Companies across Europe have a problem—a large gender gap in leadership. Men
far outnumber women in senior business leadership positions. This dismal picture of
sexism in Europe exists despite efforts and campaigns to try and ensure equality in
the workplace. But one European company is tackling the problem head-on.

Deutsche Telekom, Europe’s largest telecommunication company, says it intends to

“more than double the number of women who are managers within five years.” In
addition, it plans to increase the number of women in senior and middle management
to 30 percent by the end of 2015.

With this announcement, the company becomes the first member of the DAX 30 index
of blue-chip German companies to introduce a gender quota. Deutsche’s chief
executive René Obermann said, “Taking on more women in management positions is
not about the enforcement of misconstrued egalitarianism. Having a greater number
of women at the top will quite simply enable us to operate better.”

In addition to its plans to intensify recruiting of female university graduates, Deutsche

Telekom will need to make changes in its corporate policies and practices to attract
and keep women in management positions. So what is Deutsche Telekom doing to
achieve its goal of bringing more women into management positions? One action the
company is taking is to increase and improve recruiting of female university graduates.

In fact, the company has committed to having at least 30 percent of the places in
executive development programs held by women. Other steps being taken by the
company revolve around the work environment and work–family issues. The company
plans to expand its parental-leave programs and introduce more flexible working hours
for managers.

Right now, less than 1 percent of the company’s managers work part time. In addition,
the company plans to double the number of available places in company child-care
programs. The company also has realized it needs to become more transparent in its
selection and appointment processes and to monitor whether recruiting and retention
goals have been reached. Despite its efforts, Deutsche Telekom and other German
companies have struggled with gender goals. In 2012, only 4 percent of senior
executives at Germany’s top 200 companies were female.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

4-18. What do you think of the “quota” approach that Deutsche Telekom is pursuing?
What benefits and drawbacks does such an approach have?

4-19. What issues might Deutsche Telekom face in recruiting female university
graduates? How could they address these issues?
4-20. What issues might the company face in introducing changes in work–family
programs? How can these issues be addressed?

4-21. What workplace diversity initiatives, discussed in the chapter, might be

appropriate for Deutsche Telekom? What would be involved in implementing these
initiatives?
There are a variety of programs that could be used for the new
female managers includingmentoring groups and employee
resource groups.For the employees who may not be used toworking
with a female manager, there are awareness programs and skill
based diversity-trainingprograms.All of these programs need
support from upper management as well as a long-
termcommitment from the organization to reinforce the cultural
diversity of the organization. (LO: 5,Describe various workplace
diversity management initiatives, AACSB: Diverse and
multiculturalwork environments)