DIVERSITY DIMENSION: GENDER

GABLER'S path to an equal working environment

Anja Freyher (Human Resources Director), Carmen Rohlf and Kerstin Soltau (Chairperson on the Works Council) talked to us about how they gained insights into the actual gender equity within the company, with the help of the Diverlyze tool, and how their corporate culture has changed as a result.

Case Study - GABLER x Diverlyze

"I thought that in 2023 gender equality would no longer be an issue. Diverlyze quickly brought me back down to earth. Above all, we as a company have a responsibility to raise awareness of the issue and that's what we'll be doing at GABLER from now on."

Carmen Rohlf,
Chairperson on the Works Council @ GABLER Maschinenbau GmbH

About the Group.

The tool was used throughout the GABLER Group. This includes GABLER Maschinenbau GmbH and GABLER Thermoform GmbH & Co. KG.

As a global leader, GABLER Maschinenbau GmbH has been supplying navies in various regions of the world with innovative and customised submarine mast systems, components and underwater communications for more than 60 years.

GABLER Thermoform GmbH & Co. KG is a leading global supplier of thermoforming machines for the production of plastic packaging using the thermoforming process.

What was the Problem to be solved?

At the beginning of the cooperation in October 2022, we spoke with the GABLER Group about the current challenges. The following was worked out as a problem to be solved:

"We aim to have a transparent and accurate picture of whether the low percentage of women (20 %) in the GABLER Group feels equal and whether there are differences between the genders."

Anja Freyher

What was the status quo in terms of gender equality before the project started?

"To be honest, we thought that everything was fine and that we had no problems. That's why we hardly paid any attention to the issue. That was a mistake. After the first conversations, we realised that we don't know how every person in our company thinks and we didn't give them the space to talk about such specific problems. We work in a male dominated industry and want to make our women feel the best they can".

Why are you tackling this issue right now?

"We strive to continuously improve the company and are therefore eager for new ideas and perspectives that we can achieve through the cooperation. We are aware that we need to create an optimal working environment to stay competitive. Due to the professional field, we have fewer applications from women. We want to advocate for this internally, and draw attention externally to the fact that women must be offered an equal, tolerant and open environment".

What are your goals for the next few years?

"We want to inspire more women to join us and hire them if they have the right qualifications. We want to anchor equality in our consciousness and in our DNA. We also strive for transparency and equality. We want to remove all obstacles for women".

How has Diverlyze contributed to solving the problem?

The measurement instrument of our tool was used to survey and evaluate gender equality.

Time period

6 months

in 2022/2023

Collected data

~ 3,400 data points

80 % men / 20 % women

Results

Gender Equality Score 7.1/10

Status July 2023

The results of the measurement.

Around 3,400 data points were collected over a period of six months. They show that employees feel equal especially in the areas of working conditions, parental leave and re-entry (score > 7.9). In addition, a high feeling of security and no current challenges is shown in relation to the area of sexualisation (8.2).

Particularly noteworthy are family-friendly working time models, a good work-life balance, the acceptance that both genders can take parental leave and that the return from parental leave or re-entry is perceived as stress-free.

The analysis also revealed that women feel slightly disadvantaged when it comes to salary, even though the framework of conditions for compensation are the same for both genders. The results showed that there were no differences between genders, however the employers were urged to talk about the equality they already practice - Diverlyze can provide this type of helpful insight. There is room for improvement in existing gender roles, the acceptance of physical appearance, and the distribution of praise and recognition between genders. Employees expressed a desire for a trusted confidant, initiatives to support women, and clear equality policies.

Gender equality areas that scored well:

Working conditions
Sexualisation
Parental leave
Re-entry

Gender equality areas that need to be improved:

Women Empowerment
Recognition
Culture

What did you like about the tool?

1st

Structure & presentation

The tool is user-friendly and simple to navigate. Anja Freyher emphasises that she particularly liked the clear and easy-to-understand visual representation of the results.

2nd

Feedback feature

Carmen Rohlf particularly liked the integrated feedback function in the Pulse Survey that was sent out. "The text answers we received to some questions were worth their weight in gold for us."

3rd

Fast support

"If we had any questions, the team was always quickly available. We had special requests for the evaluation of the data, which were also quickly implemented."

What positive effects did Diverlyze have for you & the company?

According to the power trio at GABLER, the cooperation increased awareness of the topic. "Opening the dialog is the first step in the right direction," says Carmen Rohlf. It was observed that enjoyed the bi-weekly questions. They were curious about the outcome and discussed during breaks which questions they had received and how they answered them. "The questions sparked something in my mind. I realized that I was engaging with topics I had previously overlooked," says Kerstin Soltau.

"Diverlyze is an effective tool for implementing equality. We have gained valuable insights that allows us to develop and implement a tailored action plan for the future. It has helped us answer the question: "Do our perceptions align with the results?"