Holzkirchen - From a purely legal point of view, women and men are equal in Germany.
But how does it look in practice?
The BRB asked about Equal Opportunities Day.
Six women of different ages and working in different areas at the Bayerische Regiobahn (BRB) completed a questionnaire on the day of equality for women on Thursday, August 26th - not representative, but quite interesting, says the company based in Holzkirchen .
On the website of the Federal Government it says on the subject: “In Germany, the legal equality of women and men has been achieved.
We are still working on actual, everyday equality.
There is progress in equality around the world.
However, there are still significant barriers.
The goal of sustainable development is to fundamentally improve this by 2030. "
That would be within the next nine years.
There are many points on the agenda: no wage differences for work of equal value between women and men, more women in management positions, better work-life balance, more appreciation and better distribution of unpaid care and housework, no violence against women, cliché-free career and study orientation and much more.
Lots of men in the railroad sector
But what is the view of women who work for the BRB?
"I read the questionnaire drawn up by a woman with great interest, and I read the responses from the employees with even greater interest, because we and our industry in general still have a lot to do," says Managing Director Fabian Amini, who runs the responsible for the commercial area.
A man in the management is also responsible for technical matters: Arnulf Schuchmann.
To be fair, it should be mentioned that the railway sector in the technical area is predominantly run by men and almost only men work there.
In the administrative area it looks different and at the top management level, the BRB still has a share of women of just under 40 percent, which, according to Amini, is no coincidence.
Collegial cooperation at eye level
All respondents agreed that equality had not yet been achieved.
When asked which job they would leave their partner to do, the keyword "tire change" was mentioned several times.
However, with the addition that you can learn this too, if you have to.
But what do women advise others who are just starting out in their working lives?
“Don't let yourself be persuaded and go your own way.
Falling down is not bad as long as you get up again. ”And:“ Do what you feel like doing and not what is sensible or what others advise you. ”Equal pay and equal opportunities in the world of work are a sign of equality for women , but also collegial togetherness at eye level.
Have no prejudices, treat everyone equally, regardless of gender, orientation or race.
Interest in diversity and diversity
That coincides with what Fabian Amini would like for the BRB: “I am very interested in diversity and diversity in the company.
Regardless of whether you are a woman or a man, whether you are from a different branch or have experience in the railway sector, no matter which country and which cultural background, the right mix makes a good company and moves us forward. "
But finding female service electronics engineers or mechatronics engineers, for example, is much more difficult than male colleagues.
They are far too rare.
“As far as we can, we're trying to get a good mix,” says Fabian Amini.
Portion of serenity and humor
To read in many answers is the problem of organizing childcare and full-time employment, asserting oneself in working life, but also gaining the necessary self-confidence to assert oneself, to find one's own path and to pursue it.
That works pretty well at the BRB, because there is always a portion of serenity and humor in all of the answers.
Women oppose the typical characteristics of their gender with individuality, because men or women do not exist as such.
Or maybe a little: What is a typical woman?
“Talk about everything and everyone.” And typical man?
"Talking about everything and everyone and pretending that this is a typical woman."
No wage differences at the BRB
What does Fabian Amini say about Equality Day? “We try to respond to the needs of our employees, regardless of gender. This is not always easy, especially in shifts, because the train has to leave on time. Passengers must be able to rely on this, regardless of whether the driver has a sick child at home or the customer service representative has a mother who needs to be cared for. That is the balancing act that we find ourselves in as a company. There are no wage differences between men and women among our drivers. We pay according to the tariff. "
Fabian Amini says with a twinkle in his eye, and the BRB employees in the depots in Augsburg and Lenggries are responsible for changing tires, i.e. changing wheelsets on trains - and almost exclusively men are employed there. Sometimes prejudices are confirmed after all.
ksl