Allianz.com: Allianz has been able to increase the share of women holding management positions. At the end of 2014, 29.6 percent of managerial positions in Germany were filled by women. You have started in 2010 at 24.7 percent. Are you satisfied with this outcome?
Werner Zedelius: Definitely, this has been a phantastic development! Thereby, we are already very close to meeting our targets in the context of the DAX30 voluntary commitment to fill 30 percent of all management positions in Germany with women by the end of 2015. This is an excellent basis for the future development. In middle management, in particular, we were able to reach our self-imposed targets very early on. However, there is still work to be done in the upper echelons in Germany. That is not the case internationally: women have taken on top management roles in around 80 percent of our entities, making them unequivocal role models for our Group.
What measures, in particular, made this possible?
We have been systematically working on getting more women into management since 2008. This has involved looking at a whole range of areas within the company. We have had to review our recruitment and development processes, develop supporting measures, and eliminate prejudice. Our global career development conferences in particular ensure that men and women are on an equal footing where promotion is concerned. In addition, our global sponsorship program, specially focused on women, is now in the third wave - and we are systematically keeping track of the results. As a consequence, our global talent pool contains highly talented women who have the potential and achievements to be able to fill our top management positions.
Which are the next important steps in your opinion?
There is a range of challenges facing us, but we are well prepared. By end of September we are legally obliged to set targets for the top two management levels - together with the Board of Management and the Supervisory Board. We are currently analyzing respective data internally. I am confident that the measures we have launched to date will enable us to reach our targets in the future as well. In order to achieve a long-term and sustainable change in culture, it is crucial that we keep discussing the issue without being blinkered or alluding to deep-rooted prejudices. That is why we're also giving our senior executives training to raise their awareness of prejudice in the hiring process. This is an important driver in creating a corporate culture which thrives upon diversity.
