Insight

Strong women at zeb – from job interviews to client meetings to project work

We know that female empowerment gives us significantly more clout and innovative power. The proportion of female consultants has always been particularly low in the consulting industry. A key aspect of our diversity initiatives is therefore supporting our female employees, helping them network among each other and encouraging potential female applicants.

Birgit Mentzen, Head of Human Resources at zeb:

By hiring more female consultants, zeb has become noticeably more empathetic. It is no longer just about facts and figures but also increasingly about soft factors such as finding the right approach, communication styles and team dynamics – both in interactions with our clients and with each other. Women are still underrepresented at zeb and in the consulting industry as a whole. However, they are met with particular recognition and appreciation. The women at zeb are strong; they can unfold their potential, also because they stick together and always find support.

Yola Oberschmidt, HR expert at zeb:

We support women from the very beginning, i.e. in our recruiting initiatives. As part of our Female Excellence Program, we have developed a target group-specific career website and social media approach. Moreover, we offer mentoring for female students and assist female applicants in advanced stages of their job interviews by assigning them a “female buddy” from the company. Female consultants at zeb can benefit from the women@zeb network aimed at promoting networking, exchange and mutual support among our female employees. The network offers mentoring opportunities, internal and external training as well as regular meetings, thus allowing our female employees to turn other female colleagues and clients into confidants and sparring partners, if they so wish.

Birgit Mentzen, Head of Human Resources at zeb:

And then there is our external Great Women network, which serves as a platform for female managers at our clients to get in touch with female zeb employees and vice versa. We consider it our task to support women in leadership – both internally and externally. The different initiatives complement each other and ensure that women at zeb have quick and easy access to a trustful network of other experienced women in leadership. Like many other consulting companies, we offer very flexible working hours as well as part-time working models – and of course part-time and joint leadership.