[2024 Women’s Forum] Doichitelekom Vice President: "Shortened Work Hours for Childcare Do Not Harm Careers"

Asia Economy Hosts '2024 Women Leaders Forum'
Keynote Speech by Sandra Vintgetter, Vice President of Deutsche Telekom Germany

"If a child is sick and a parent has to care for them all night, wouldn't it be difficult for CEOs, executives, and employees alike to perform their work as usual? It is important for companies to embrace and support their employees' lives."

Sandra Wintgetter, Vice President of Deutsche Telekom, Germany's largest telecommunications company, expressed this view during her keynote speech titled "Why Does Germany's Largest Telecom Employ Parental Leave Takers as Part-Time Workers?" at the '2024 Asia Economy Women Leaders Forum' held on the 30th at Lotte Hotel in Sogong-dong, Seoul.

Sandra Bintgetter, Vice President of Deutsche Telekom, is delivering a keynote speech on the topic "Why Germany's Largest Telecom Company Employs Parental Leave Takers as Part-Time Workers" at the 2024 Women Leaders Forum hosted by Asia Economy on the 30th at Lotte Hotel, Sogong-dong, Seoul. Photo by Kim Hyun-min

Deutsche Telekom is recognized as a leading company in strengthening female leadership in Germany. The company aims to raise the proportion of female leaders within the organization to 30%. Currently, the figure stands at 25%, below the target, but the proportion of female CEOs is 37.8%, significantly exceeding the goal.

To bring about this change, Deutsche Telekom focused on enabling employees to balance work and family life. Vice President Wintgetter reflected, "We struggled with the fact that the number of female leaders was not increasing. Upon examining the situation, we realized that neither women nor their spouses felt that any company could embrace their family life."

She added, "One of the most important aspects of work-family balance (such as childcare) is that employees must be able to manage their daily routines and flexibly adjust their time," emphasizing, "Even if various childcare-related policies exist, workplaces need to help employees practically utilize them."

Working mothers and fathers in Germany actively use part-time work systems to appropriately coordinate work and family. Thirty percent of German workers use this system, with 50% of women and 13% of men working part-time. The female labor participation rate in Germany is relatively high at 77%.

After explaining this situation in Germany, Vice President Wintgetter stated that she would replace the term "part-time job" used in the keynote speech title with "working reduced hours." She emphasized, "In Germany, working part-time is understood simply as a reduction in salary," and stressed that reducing work hours does not mean a decline in work quality or other changes.

This means that even if an employee reduces their working hours to balance work and family, it will not negatively impact their career. She argued, "If you look at the quality of work, it does not differ from full-time employees," and insisted that companies should respond by taking additional measures such as hiring substitute workers or new employees.

Sandra Bintgetter, Vice President of Deutsche Telekom, is delivering a keynote speech on the topic "Why Germany's Largest Telecom Company Employs Parental Leave Takers as Part-Time Workers" at the 2024 Women Leaders Forum hosted by Asia Economy on the 30th at Lotte Hotel, Sogong-dong, Seoul. Photo by Kim Hyun-min

Deutsche Telekom actively utilizes reduced working hours from frontline employees to top management. Vice President Wintgetter introduced the case of a female employee who is a lawyer and mother of four children, responsible for legal affairs at Deutsche Telekom. The individual has been using reduced working hours for ten years while continuously performing specialized legal work rather than simple tasks. The company has made special efforts to create an environment where she can communicate with team members and stay engaged.

Vice President Wintgetter said, "Communication is extremely important when working reduced hours. It is essential to clearly know who is doing what," adding, "Clear communication and accountability must be established." She further advised, "Korea needs to find its own way. Through this, it should place greater importance on employees' abilities and efforts rather than when they arrive or leave work or how long they sit in the office."