Interview with Manuela Wendland on International Women's Day
Sustainability
“We don’t just focus on the issue of promoting women. BKW stands for an inclusive corporate culture in which everyone has fair opportunities.”
6 March 2025
International Women’s Day takes place on 8 March 2025 under the motto “For ALL women and girls: rights, equality and empowerment.” In her interview, Manuela Wendland, Head of HR at BKW Group since 1 February 2025, emphasises the central importance of this day for reflecting on both the progress achieved in gender equality and the challenges that still remain.
How important do you think International Women's Rights Day, which is celebrated every year on 8 March, is?
International Women's Day is of great importance. On the one hand, on this day we can celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements already made by women. In doing so, we should thank all those who have helped to ensure that equality for women continues to progress. Truly standing up for an issue and making a difference requires a great deal of courage and commitment.
At the same time, the day serves to draw attention to the inequalities and challenges that still exist and that women around the world still face. In some cases, huge progress still needs to be made when you think of extreme issues such as female genital mutilation, which unfortunately is still carried out in some countries. Domestic violence also unfortunately remains far too prevalent. And even today there are still issues in the world of work, such as pay inequality or the unequal distribution of paid work and care work.
What importance does the promotion of women have at BKW?
BKW takes the issue of equality seriously, and it has a high priority in the corporate culture. However, we do not focus solely on the promotion of women. BKW stands for an inclusive corporate culture in which everyone is given fair opportunities, regardless of gender, age, origin or other characteristics. This is also enshrined in our Code of Conduct.
But to return to the topic of promoting women: we are actively working to create an attractive working environment for women at BKW. This is not entirely easy in some of our business areas, as we have many professions that are considered so-called “male professions”. For example, the profession of grid electrician. Unfortunately, we currently still have a low proportion of women there, which we want to increase continuously over the coming years.
Are there specific measures at BKW?
We are working hard to promote the compatibility of work and personal life situations and therefore offer flexible working models whenever possible. In one of our business areas, all positions are advertised with a workload of 50–100% and the option of job and top sharing. This has already enabled the first full-time positions to be filled with female tandems. Other business areas are to follow this example swiftly.
In addition, we maintain several strategic partnerships, for example with Advance, the leading business association for gender equality in Switzerland. This network comprises 145 companies based in Switzerland that are committed to increasing the proportion of women in management. At the end of 2023, the Group Executive Board signed the Advance Charter, thereby committing to promoting a working environment with equal opportunities and increasing the proportion of women.
Since 2024, BKW has been a member of «Women in Power». This is the women’s network of the Swiss energy sector, which brings together female specialists and managers, offers workshops, etc.! We also have an internal women’s network that we intend to continue expanding gradually.
We also try to inspire young women to take up our STEM professions at an early stage. For example, we take part in the Women’s Contact Day in Zurich, where a selected number of companies offer female students the opportunity to exchange ideas with employer representatives about their future careers. We hold information events in schools and lower secondary schools and take part in career fairs, where we actively approach young women.
Were there any role models in your career who particularly shaped you?
I think the person who shaped me most in my life was my father, who taught me from an early age that you can achieve anything in life and gave me the necessary self-confidence to do so. In my opinion, socialisation should not be overlooked when discussing men and women. In childhood, boys are usually encouraged more to have confidence in themselves than girls, who tend to be protected more.
For me, International Women’s Day is another wonderful proof that you really can achieve anything. In 1995, only twelve countries had legal sanctions against domestic violence; today, 193 countries have legal measures.
There is still a lot ahead of us, but we have already achieved an incredible amount. With that in mind: happy Women’s Day!
