08 October 2024 | Online
Dr. Iulia Stroila and Nelli Scharapow, representing the WE.Lead project, delivered a presentation to over 180 Rhenus employees as part of their company's women initiative. For #shetalks, our team members were invited to provide insights into their research and address the challenges and opportunities surrounding diversity from the scientific perspective. After introducing the project, which is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, and outlining its goals, they highlighted the recent setbacks in gender equality in Germany. Despite these challenges, they emphasized the importance of diversity and its many advantages for companies. A key focus of their presentation was explaining why diversity is still not fully achieved in many organizations. One significant barrier is the presence of biases. They discussed common biases against women and provided practical tips on how to address them when encountered. However, they stressed that true societal change requires addressing these issues at the institutional and structural levels in the long run. They went on to analyze various diversity measures, discussing what works and what doesn't in organizational contexts, and explored the role New Work plays in fostering diversity. Additionally, they drew attention to the upcoming Women's Empowerment Convention (WEC 2025), where the WE.Lead Academy will also be featured. The presentation concluded with a powerful call to action: "Fix the system, not the women." This sparked a lively discussion among the participants, who asked questions and shared their thoughts and experiences on the topic.
The S2B team hopes that the Rhenus employees gained valuable insights into the research being conducted and the work happening in the topic. While Rhenus has already taken some steps toward improving diversity, there is still work to be done to achieve lasting change. Thank you to the organizational team and the moderation and to everyone who joined! We are happy to see those initiatives coming to life and the engagement.