Women's Empowerment

Almost two thirds of the REWE Group’s employees are women. But they are still underrepresented in senior management. We want to change this by promoting our female employees to leadership positions.

To ensure that we are not simply paying lip service to diversity, it is essential that we take concrete action and set measurable goals.

Dr Daniela Büchel, Member of the Management Board – Chief People and Sustainability Officer

REWE Group endorses Women’s Empowerment Principles

In November 2020, the REWE Group joined the UN Women’s Empowerment Principles initiative to strengthen the role of women both in the company and in society at large. By signing up to the seven principles, we are demonstrating our commitment to promoting gender equality in the workplace through a series of practical and quantifiable measures. Our involvement demonstrates our commitment to promoting gender equality and empowering women.

Retail managers

One in four of our independent REWE supermarkets is managed by a woman.

Retail managers
female retail managers	24 %
male retail managers	76 %

Women’s power at REWE Group

REWE Group employs 58.1% female employees.

Potential in our own ranks.

Across all management levels, the proportion of women at our company is nearly45 percent.

Our goal

The REWE Group intends to achieve gender parity in management positions by 2025. We offer more opportunities to help employees achieve a healthy work-life balance and have launched a range of projects and initiatives. These include the Women’s Drive programme, which empowers women who have already taken their first steps in management, and the f.ernetzt network, a regular discussion forum involving almost 1,000 employees and female managers. Furthermore, the REWE Group is a partner of the Cologne-based association Mit Frauen in Führung (With Women in Management). These measures support our aim of achieving gender equality in leadership positions. REWE retailer Semai Akale’s success story is a case in point. Her career has been characterised by ambition, a thirst for knowledge and her belief in herself. Along with other strong women in the REWE Group, she demonstrates the importance of promoting diversity and equal opportunities to create a strong community.
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Women’s Drive

The group-wide development programme Women’s Drive offers a year of support to women who have some initial management experience and includes targeted training and advice from experienced mentors.

Whether they are dedicated employees, aspiring leaders or experienced managers, the women at the REWE Group can now benefit from a comprehensive development programme. All these initiatives are designed to fully support women in their professional development and expand the Group’s internal network. In our interview, the Project Manager explains exactly how it works.
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Empowering women within the company and throughout the supply chain

f.ernetzt, the network for all women at the REWE Group, is a forum for regular discussion, where female employees, managers and experts can benefit from the experience of others, interact in a safe space or simply socialise.

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In 2021, the REWE Group published its Women in the Supply Chain guideline, which is intended to empower women throughout global supply chains.
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