Following the executive order signed by the US President in January, which bans diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI) programmes from any company with access to US public contracts, the German power plant manufacturing specialist Siemens Energy announced at the end of June that it was abolishing all quotas for women in its US subsidiary (12,000 employees). The group’s HR director Christina Schulte-Kutsch told the newspaper Die Welt that the subject was “emotionally difficult” but said the company “must comply with the law”. This explains these “minimal adaptations” for the American market. These concern minimum quotas for women in management as well as specific programmes for promoting women. Bonuses paid to management in relation to progress towards these targets have also been abolished.
Introduced in 2020 at Siemens Energy, the quota system for women remains in force outside North America. It aims to increase the proportion of women in the company’s first and second management levels to 25% by the end of 2025 and to 30% by 2030. According to the company, this figure currently stands at 24% worldwide.
As a Berlin correspondent for the French and Swiss press since the late 1990s, I cover a wide range of economic, political and social issues, with a particular focus on the German business and labour market. My areas of interest include co-determination, digitalisation, demographics and ESG/DEI policies.