Deutsche Telekom Imposing Quotas for Female Managers - Building Gender Balanced Business

• Deutsche Telekom plans to fill 30% of its middle and upper management jobs with women by the end of 2015 under quotas it is imposing.

• Telekom, based in Bonn, will use tools like recruitment policy and executive development programs to reach the targets. It will expand the company’s parental leave, child care and flextime programs.

• In 2008, women held 13% of such positions. Telekom said it was the first of the 30 companies in the blue-chip DAX index to impose such a quota.

• “It is a matter of social fairness and a categorical necessity for our success,” CEO Rene Obermann told The Associated Press, adding that “having a greater number of women at the top will quite simply enable us to operate better”.

• A company spokesman said that by setting a quota and reporting on progress, the company aims to create momentum – and pressure – internally, especially given how 60% of German graduates are women. “This is not about hiring women just for the sake of hiring women but about achieving a competitive edge by tapping into talent.”

Sources: The Associated Press, Deutsche Welle