With the signing of the United Nations Women's Empowerment Principles (WEPs) , Commerzbank has committed itself to promoting gender equality. WEP is the first global initiative aiming at promoting and strengthening women in companies on the basis of seven principles. It was launched jointly by UN Women and the UN Global Compact. To date, more than 1,900 companies have committed themselves to the WEPs.
Today, women and men at Commerzbank are equally well qualified and have equivalent leadership skills. Mixed gender teams - especially in management - show outstanding performance and are indispensable for the bank's success in terms of internationalization and demographic change. Although women make up the majority of Commerzbank employees (over 52 percent), they are not yet equally represented at management level.
Over the past few years, the Bank has therefore continuously expanded its activities in the area of work-life balance in order to open up new career opportunities, especially for women. The measures range from childcare and the return guarantee after parental leave to flexible working-time models and part-time work - also for managers.
"Equality Means Business" is the claim of the UN initiative. Commerzbank is also convinced that equality pays off for the company.
The seven Women’s Empowerment Principles
- Establish high-level corporate leadership for gender equality
- Treat all women and men fairly at work - respect and support human rights and nondiscrimination
- Ensure the health, safety and well-being of all women and men workers
- Promote education, training and professional development for women
- Implement enterprise development, supply chain and marketing practices that empower women
- Promote equality through community initiatives and advocacy
- Measure and publicly report on progress to achieve gender equality
