Company

8 March 2022

Brave, pragmatic, and getting things done: Women’s voices from around the REWE Group

Women pursue a variety of career paths within the REWE Group. And their experiences of diversity and gender equality at work likewise vary widely. What they all have in common is that they get things done.
Reading time: 10 min.

1 / 3

Women in the REWE Group: We’ve made some progress, but there’s still work to be done

Highly skilled and yet paid less. And still a minority in the c-suites. Not to put too fine a point on it, but this is still how things stand for women and equal opportunities in Germany today. All the same, according to a recent study on education by the Institute of Economic and Social Research (WSI), much has, in fact, happened since the early 1990s. More women than men now complete the ‘Abitur’ examinations or entrance qualification for a university of applied sciences. And girls typically have better grades in school than boys. Many companies want to see more women at all levels of management and are actively working to build mixed-gender teams. That is also true of the REWE Group, where we promote women’s career development in all areas – not just on International Women’s Day.

To series

From experienced REWE VPs to dedicated toom store managers to the young woman aspiring to become the first female lorry driver in REWE’s logistics network – women really do take many different paths within the REWE Group. As such, their journeys will be vastly different and their experience of diversity and gender equality in the workplace will be unique. But what they all have in common is that they get things done. Let’s hear from a few of them now:

We’ve got leadership workshops and we’ve got leadership workshops for women. Why aren’t there leadership workshops for men?

Agnieszka Brzezinska: What bothers me most is the constant focus on gender. For example, we’ve got leadership workshops and then we’ve got leadership workshops specifically for women. Why aren’t there leadership workshops for men? I always say the results at the end of the year show whether someone is doing a good job managing a store or not. There are many different criteria. Sales and profit, of course, but also employee and customer satisfaction. The results have to measure up, whatever your gender.

A lot likely has to do with the industry we’re in. After completing my degree in international retail management, I joined a large electronics company with an almost entirely male workforce. I left the company because there were almost no opportunities for a young woman to get ahead. That was a real blow. From then on, I promised myself that I’d never let something like that happen again. At toom, it’s different. I’ve since been promoted to centre manager and the next step from here would be regional sales manager.

At toom, they’re very proactive and progressive when it comes to diversity and promoting women. More and more women are serving as store managers, and I personally have done my bit to advocate for qualified women in my own area of influence. In this respect, I also appreciate the work-life balance offered by toom. And even if it may initially bother some of my male colleagues to see a woman managing a DIY store, they usually come round pretty quickly. And everyone really appreciates each others’ contributions.

agnieszka-Brzezinska

About:

Agnieszka Brzezinska

has been a store manager at toom Baumarkt since 2017 and a base store manager at toom in Troisdorf for a few months.

More women in retail

Of the roughly 3.1 million people working in retail in Germany, 67 per cent are women. As the German Retail Federation (Handelverband Deutschland – HDE) sees it, the reason this figure is so high is the availability of part-time work in the industry – 45 per cent of retail workers are employed part time. The only sectors with a larger share of women are healthcare and social services. The sector with the fewest women is construction.

Treating business partners as equals is essential. Once you’ve established an atmosphere of respect, it sticks

Melanie Ackermann: In Tunesia, a Muslim country, men traditionally play a larger role in the workplace – though the country is becoming increasingly modern. People here are not (yet) used to seeing women in leadership roles. Especially in the hospitality business. As a woman, you still have to work hard to gain respect and acceptance. You have to show that you really do know what you’re doing. Once you have, though, you’ll be taken seriously. Professionalism is highly regarded here.

When I became a destination manager on Djerba at the age of 23, having served 18 months as a tour representative, it took the team a little while to get used to it. What helped me a lot was the fact that I come from the hospitality industry. So I already knew a lot coming in. The team was great. I felt accepted, and we were able to work together very well without any big conversations about it. I never experienced any problems in terms of accepting my authority, although the situation was quite new to my colleagues. But there have been a few instances where I have been put to the test…

On the rare occasion that things get uncomfortable – say, a business partner makes innuendos about my age or gender – I remain assertive and professional. I never let anyone make me doubt myself and always treat everyone as equals. As the saying goes, “We reap what we sow.” And here, those are certainly words to live by. I love the varied nature of my work, with new challenges each day. And I’m also really happy to be living here on Djerba. I have arrived.”

melanie-ackermann

About:

Melanie Ackermann

is Destination Manager of DER Touristik Destination Service AG on Djerba and supports the Digital Content Management in Destination.

Getting back to work after maternity leave

There are a growing number of women in employment. Since the millennium, the percentage of women in the workforce aged between 15 and 65 has risen almost continuously across all age groups. Germany’s Federal Statistical Office puts the percentage for 2020 at 71.8 per cent. In 2000, it was 57.7 per cent. Most recently, 79 per cent of working-age men were in employment. The biggest differences in workforce representation between men and women is in the 30-34 age group, where men outnumber women by 12 percentage points. According to Germany’s Federal Employment Agency, the steadily rising employment rate among women aged 35 to 39 suggests that this group seeks to return to work soon after starting a family.

I’ve found the right model

Heidi Rajcsanyi: When I finished my ‘Abitur’ examinations, I knew I wanted to study computer science and decided on business IT with a focus on software development. After earning my degree and then working in release and configuration management for a few years and being responsible for deployment, I’ve been supervising an all-male team in a disciplinary leadership role for just under a year now. The job was posted through Symphony.

I saw the opportunity, and I took it. The fact that I’m one of very few women here has little relevance in my day-to-day work. Whatever your role in IT, what matters is that you do your job well, not what gender you happen to be. Still, it would be nice to see more women and girls getting into IT. But I think that’s only going to happen if we can interest them in the topic in general and give them a better idea of what it’s like to work in the field.

Fortunately, I’ve also found a model that works for me, personally. My husband took most of our parental leave and now works part time so I can keep working full time. It was an exciting time, especially at the beginning, and we both had to grow into life with our (now two) kids. Knowing that someone at home has my back is a huge help to me at work.

heidi-rajcsanyi

About:

Heidi Rajcsanyi

is Principal Engineer, DevOps & APM, at REWE Systems.

More women in part-time roles

Part-time work and ‘mini jobs’ are the domain of women. Statistics from Germany’s Federal Employment Agency show that nearly four times as many women as men work part time in Germany across all sectors of the economy. Nearly two-thirds of all people aged 15 to 65 in marginal part-time employment are female. In retail, that number is even higher. Of all part-time workers in the sector, 84 per cent are women. Retail has a higher share of part-time and ‘mini job’ positions than other sectors. According to the German Retail Federation (Handelverband Deutschland – HDE), a good 1.1 million of the total 3.1 million retail jobs are part-time and another 800,000 are mini jobs.

You’ve got to have a thick skin

Joulina Gertlowski: Yes, I hear dumb comments all the time. But I can handle it. You’ve got to have a thick skin. So I either ignore the comments or give some kind of comeback. But honestly, most people who see me driving tell me they’re impressed. The examiner at the driving school was really impressed at how well I did on my driving test.

joulina-gertlowski

About:

Joulina Gertlowski

is a prospective professional driver – the first at the REWE warehouse in Breuna.

More and more women in leadership

There are, on average, far more women in management roles in the retail sector than in the German economy as a whole. According to the German Retail Federation (Handelsverband Deutschland – HDE), women hold 38 per cent of first-line management positions compared to only 26 per cent in the wider economy. The second layer of management in retail has a 65 per cent share of women, which is far higher than in the German economy as a whole, where women hold just 40 per cent of positions. The HDE cites the “traditionally high share of women” in the sector in general and “good opportunities for career advancement” as reasons for this.

Be brave, believe in yourself and don’t give prejudice a chance

Ulrike Zanker: I really don’t like to make comparisons, and I don’t see any legitimate reason for prejudice. I grew up with two older brothers and learned at a young age to assert myself. My being a girl was never the reason I didn’t get or achieve something.

Women have a different way of approaching things and a different perspective than men. One is not necessarily better than the other. But when the two are combined, that can be very powerful. I started my career in market research, which required an analytical, mathematical focus. Over time, my path led me into retail. I am loving my current responsibilities in the goods division, which for me is the very heart of retail. I get to experience the business from the operations side, but I can also take a strategic perspective and think outside the box.

Women have a tendency to be very self-critical. But when you believe in yourself, go your own way and accomplish your goals, you can’t help but radiate that. Which leaves no space for prejudice. Companies like REWE only stand to benefit when they have more women in leadership roles and more gender-diverse teams.

ulrike-zanker

About:

Ulrike Zanker

is responsible for REWE purchasing in the dry goods division 1.

Read more

Join the discussion on

Our LinkedIn feed has all the latest information from the REWE Group and the sector, with the most important developments from the worlds of retail, e-commerce, food, CSR and policy.

To LinkedIn feed

  • Share article