With its current patronage of the Cologne-based alliance "With Women in Leadership" and the "Women to 1" initiative, REWE Group is sending a clear signal in favour of visibility, equal opportunities and modern leadership. In this interview, Daniela Büchel, Member of the Management Board for People, talks about why she believes that focussing on women in leadership is the decisive step towards strengthening them. She openly describes where REWE Group stands today - and why the 50:50 target has not yet been achieved despite progress. At the same time, she makes it clear that real change can only succeed if attitude, culture and the advancement of women are consistently considered together.
one: Daniela, REWE Group is launching its communication initiative "Women on 1" for International Women's Day. What is this statement all about?
Daniela Büchel: We wanted to reverse the classic pattern with this clear statement: It's not about women constantly having to prove themselves anew, but about us seeing them. "Women on the 1" is a clear attitude, a positioning of REWE Group as an active, long-term and authentic promoter of female senior managers.
The "1" symbolises visibility, responsibility and relevance. We want to make female senior managers more visible as role models in order to encourage other women to take on a management position themselves or to develop further in this position. Overall, "Women to 1" supports our goal and our REWE Group commitment to achieve a balanced gender ratio in management positions. We have not yet achieved this, but we are actively working towards it.
„It's not about women having to constantly prove themselves, it's about us seeing them.“
Daniela Büchel
one: We wanted to achieve 50:50 by 2025 - we are now at 44.9 per cent female senior managers overall. Where do we stand at the higher management levels? Do we still need a campaign like "Women on 1"?
Daniela Büchel : At first glance, the figure of 44.9 per cent sounds good, but women are still significantly underrepresented at senior management levels 1 and 2 in particular. As a result, we are losing valuable innovative strength - as well as team strength and resilience, which characterise diverse management teams.
At the same time, we want to send out a visible signal in favour of equal opportunities. A campaign creates the necessary framework for this, as it makes women in the company visible, strengthens their self-confidence and shows how modern leadership is practised at our company.
one: What specific measures do we want to take to get more women into higher management levels in the long term?
Daniela Büchel : First of all, and this is an essential prerequisite for success: we have a clear commitment from the Management Board. The measures include the implementation of specific KPIs, which we review regularly. There are also development programmes, such as Women's Drive, which are explicitly aimed at women; in addition, we provide very targeted support for individual development paths.
With our women's network f.ernetzt, we create a space for dialogue and visibility. There are also numerous measures relating to work-life balance, for example as part of our certification in accordance with the "job and family" audit and - new since last year - the "job&diversity" audit. And last but not least, we are working on our corporate culture with Step up by strengthening initiative, willingness to change and trust.
one: corporate culture is a good keyword. After all, the demand for a higher proportion of women in management positions is primarily a cultural issue. How do we influence the culture - and where are the biggest hurdles?
Daniela Büchel : One key challenge remains the fact that women continue to take on the majority of care work. In addition, there are long working hours, rigid shifts and attendance requirements that make career paths more difficult.
The hurdles are particularly noticeable in the market: a high presence at operational times, early and late shifts and the need for flexibility often place a greater burden on women. At head office, the hurdles have a different effect - for example, due to many meetings, travelling or project peaks.
We are working on all of these issues, for example by further developing flexible working time models that are also used in the market. Part-time management or co-leadership also supports cultural change. And mobile working creates additional opportunities to promote diversity. Many of these measures are firmly anchored in the current "job and family" audit.
one: And what successes can we already celebrate?
Daniela Büchel: We can clearly see that the proportion of women in management is increasing - as I said, we are now at almost 45 per cent, which is well above many other sectors. The proportion is also increasing noticeably at management levels 2 and 3.
Another success is that we are focussing on sustainable appointments. We deliberately do not work with quick symbolic appointments, but with long-term solutions that bring women into management in a stable way.
Structurally, we have also made progress: actual/target analyses are carried out in all business units, from which tailor-made measures are derived. Annual reporting ensures that we remain transparent and learn from the process.
And last but not least, our development tools are effective: development programmes that are specifically aimed at women are very popular. The f.ernetzt network creates visibility and dialogue and helps women to look beyond their own area. And the measures from the "job and family" audit support work-life balance - a crucial building block for more female career paths.
All of this shows: We have created solid cultural foundations on which we can continue to build.
