In the IT sector, and indeed at iteratec, it is not a given that women are represented at all levels of the hierarchy and across all areas of expertise. As a business IT specialist and senior business architect, I often find myself the only woman on the project team.
I share this experience with many of my female colleagues: women are still under-represented in teams. This makes it difficult to network, get to know one another and exchange experiences across different sites. It was precisely to address this need that I founded a women’s network at iteratec in 2021, together with three female colleagues. Our aim was, and remains, to play an active role in shaping change.
From the very beginning, it was important to us not only that the management was committed to establishing the network, but above all that there was constructive and goal-oriented collaboration. Our initiative led to the implementation of a 30 per cent quota for women, which had already been proposed. Our aim is to ensure that women are visibly represented at all levels of the organisation and in all departments, and that they contribute to decision-making on an equal footing, drawing on their expertise.
Maintaining contact with Human Resources is important for providing impetus and driving organisational change . We now regularly publish an internal report showing how the proportion of women is developing, both across the company as a whole and within project teams.
This creates visibility and has led to an adjustment in our recruitment strategy: in the last two years alone, we have received significantly more applications from women, hired more women and, at the same time, seen staff turnover fall.
The core team of iteratec’s women’s network consists of Alexandra Brandl, Isabel Barlage, Susann Hartfuß-Kutzner, Alona Sydorova, Jasmin Legler, Imke Wagner, Christine Kränzle, Sophia Breth (from left to right) and Antje Adam (not pictured).
Another important aspect of our work is ‘Male Allyship’ – that is, the support we receive from our male colleagues in working together on these issues. A key moment was a survey on the topic of ‘Women in Leadership Positions’, which we carried out internally shortly after the network was founded.
We discussed the results of this survey at a company-wide meeting and openly discussed differences in perceptions of equal opportunities. This led to a valuable shift in perspective.
It’s wonderful to see how much we’ve already achieved. Today, there are twelve of us leading the women’s network. Together, we continue to drive many initiatives forward: for example, this year we aim to identify anti-stereotypical role models and female speakers at iteratec to increase our visibility as points of contact. To foster ongoing dialogue , weorganise internal networking meetings every two months for our female colleagues and with all staff members, as we did most recently on International Women’s Day.
My advice to anyone looking to set up a women’s network: seek dialogue with other organisations at an early stage. The challenges we face affect not just individual organisations, but the entire sector.
Experience has shown me that such a network can not only bring about tangible change internally, but also foster a broad dialogue. It is proof that change is possible when people come together and stand up for their convictions.
*This article first appeared in CIO magazine