CEWE receives prestigious WoB Award from FidAR
CEWE, listed on the SDAX and based in Oldenburg, has been one of the leading companies in FidAR's Women-on-Board Index 185 for years. The laudatory speech by Elke Maria van Zadel, Chairwoman of the Board of Management of ÜSTRA Hannoversche Verkehrsbetriebe AG, emphasised CEWE's pioneering role: ‘As a technology and market leader in the field of photo and online printing, CEWE relies on a Supervisory Board with equal numbers of women and men and a female-led Board of Management. This makes the company a role model in the area of equal participation. And for good reason: because only those who exemplify equal opportunities in corporate management will also be ahead in the competition for the best personnel.’
Yvonne Rostock, Chairwoman of the CEWE Board of Management, emphasised in her acceptance speech: ‘We are convinced that diverse, versatile teams are an important driver of economic success. At the same time, we also recognise our social responsibility. We are a role model here - as female managers and as a company.’ CHRO Christina Sontheim-Leven adds: ‘In recent years, we have done a lot to anchor equality in the company's mission statement with numerous concrete initiatives.’
In the current Women-on-Board Index 185, CEWE occupies 6th place in the Supervisory Board ranking (50 % women) and 26th place in the overall ranking. Since the introduction of the gender quota in 2015, the company has consistently increased the proportion of women on the Supervisory Board from 41.6 to 50 per cent and on the Board of Management from 0 to 28.6 per cent. In the Lower Saxony Women-on-Board Index, CEWE is in first place in the Supervisory Board ranking and 14th place in the ranking for the proportion of women on supervisory boards and top management bodies.
FidAR President Prof. Dr Anja Seng emphasises: ‘CEWE is one of the companies that has systematically brought women into top management positions and opted for a Supervisory Board with equal representation at an early stage. This sends a clear signal to both internal employees and applicants: women can make a career at CEWE.’
The selection for the Women-on-Board Award is based on the current status of equal participation in management positions, the progress made in recent years in the proportion of women on the Supervisory Board and Board of Management, as well as qualitative measures that the company communicates with regard to equal rights and equal opportunities. CEWE thus joins the ranks of previous winners of the award such as SAP, Deutsche Telekom, Telefónica and Üstra Hannoversche Verkehrsbetriebe AG.
The FidAR Forum, sponsored by the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth, is one of the largest conferences for equal participation in management positions in the German economy. The detailed study on FidAR's Women-on-Board Index 185 from July 2023 and updated figures on the WoB Index as of January 2024 can be found here: www.wob-index.de.
