Switzerland
00:00
OT Entertainer
'Nubiya and the MSC-Ladies' (open)
00:12
These women are the ‘ladies of the MSC’; employees of the 'Mediterranean Shipping Company'. It is the second-largest shipping company in the world, with operations in more than 140 countries. Shipping may be a male dominated industry, but the MSC-Basel branch employs only women. The team, seen here recording a CD with the Swiss singer Nubya, are the most economically successful branch in the company.
00:45
Switzerland is not known for progressive gender politics. Women have only been able to vote in Switzerland since the 70s. This makes it even more surprising that a Swiss shipping company agency has decided to rely exclusively on women.
01:05
OT I plus Rene Mägli
Hello, Mr. Mägli I am pleased ... (Open)
Grüßi Ms. Hofmann, welcome to Basel on behalf of the Ladies of MSC! (Open)
01:10
The only man here is the CEO, Rene Mägli, who is determined to employ only women.
1:24
This is Patrizia Di Geronimo. She is the CEO’s representative, responsible for business with corporate customers and chief financial officer of MSC-Basel. She is just 24 years old.
01:36
Import, Export, Sales: all departments are run by women.
1:41
OT Assistant
Michal Shalom, .... (Open)
1:44
1:47
Most speak several languages. Looking after customers around the world, from their desks they ship sugar from Brazil to Canada, textiles from China to Germany, as well as coffee, cotton, and steel across the globe.
02:02
The MSC ships are among the largest in the world: 360 meters long with a capacity of 14,000 containers.
02:12
Patrizia Di Geronimo started in the company at 15. Almost ten years later, as head of finance she manages a budget of several million euros.
02:26
OT Patrizia Di Geronimo, Finance Director
I was not used to such large figures when I started in the financial sector. I was only slightly surprised to find out that we juggle back and forth several million every day, because we're a large company. In the beginning you are cautious, but now I don't think about it when we move a million from one account to the other. This attitude only comes with time.
02:51
02:55
The Head of the Export Department is Anita Vogt, who trained as a hauler for nine years at MSC Basel.
03:05
OT Anita Vogt, Head of Export Department
I've experienced it all already in my career; I've been on men's teams, mixed teams and women's teams. I must say, for me, it is true that the women's team are very productive. The numbers speak for themselves.
03:22
The numbers are certainly impressive. For several years they have achieved, on average, a twenty percent increase in earnings here; more than any other MSC office. And this is in spite of the shipping industry's struggle during the recent economic crisis.
03:37
Rene Mägli sits inside the open-plan office. For him, teamwork is what matters.
03:47
Ulrike Woggon OT, Sales Manager
Women communicate more with each other, which is very pleasant. With men it is often only: do this, do that. We don’t have that here, here it is friendlier, more charming…but generally speaking, it works.
04:02
04:09
Rene Magli used to also employ men, but for 10 years he has chosen only women. His argument? Women are team oriented, communicative, and efficient – all in all, more productive.
04:22
OT Rene Mägli, Managing Director
I have a service agency - my job is to offer the best service, which means I must be better than the competition. And so my thought was, I can only do that with women. I am an entrepreneur: my job is to look after the customers and the company ... It would be paradoxical if I were only doing it to help the women. That was just an additional bonus and now this women-only policy has become very popular. I started ten years ago and now others are starting to see that it really is the right way.
05:08
OT Patrizia Di Geronimo, Finance Director
Working in a company with men, the leadership role can be very hard to enforce: you have to prove yourself first, and sometimes in a meeting no-one will listen to you - you don't have that problem here. Women focus more on the matter at hand and less on their own position; you have the chance to bring in more ideas, sometimes in an area you don’t work in. In other companies, with male workers, I have not had this experience. When you make a suggestion they usually say, "Why are you interfering in my area? You have no reason to interfere there." - so I find it enjoyable.
05:47
05:53
This music recording was a Christmas gift from Rene Mäglis to the ladies of the MSC-Basel - a great success.
Music OPEN
06:06
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06:06
06:08
London. The financial district, or 'the City', is one of the main centres of the global economy. It is populated by the so-called city-boys: the traders and brokers who made millions in the good times, but ultimately contributed to the financial crisis through their speculations.
06:32
And among them - the City-Girl.
06:37
Barbara Stcherbatcheff is an American from Chicago. For five years she has worked in the City as a securities dealer. She has often ended the day being up by as much as 30,000 €, and equally often being down by as much.
06:55
She described her experiences in a best-selling book: “Confessions of a City Girl”.
07:05
OT Stcherbatcheff Barbara, former securities dealer (English)
Trading is a very high pressure environment, but if you work hard the rewards are great and you can make a lot of money in a short time period of time. When you’re winning it is fantastic, you’re on top of the world, it is extremely exciting ... When you’re losing you feel as you have been run over by a truck.”
07:24
07:26
Barbara is in work by 6 o’clock in the morning, often working 14-hour days. Then she will have to entertain clients in the evening. The financial district is notorious for drinking and strip bars.
07:38
OT Stcherbatcheff Barbara, former securities dealer
”Everyone knows these kind of things are going on in the financial sector. Wherever there is a lot of money, there are men who spend it on fast cars and easy women, and champagne and strippers. Of course, my colleagues have also done this, but no one has ever forced me to go along to a strip club. When they took me, I didn't see it as discriminatory, on the contrary, I was at least accepted as part of the team.”
08:10
08:10
To succeed in the financial sector what counts is talent, not fulfilling gender quotas.
08:17
OT Stcherbatcheff Barbara, former Wertpapierhänlerin
Women have to be competent and they have to want to be there It serves no purpose to take women based on quotas and to ignore a man who is much better qualified – You should take the best person for the job, whether man or woman. Quotas could backfire if used in the wrong way.
08:37
08:42
But does the best qualified person always get the job in the finance industry, regardless of whether they are a man or a woman? Do both genders earn the same wage here? And what is the working atmosphere really like for women in an industry that is still dominated by men?
09:00
At the other end of the City, next to St Paul’s Cathedral, is a law firm that deals with employment cases purely relating to the financial sector.
09:24
Its lawyer William Garnett specialises in discrimination claims. He represents primarily female traders, brokers and bankers who sue for discrimination in the workplace.
09:38
OT William Garnett, a lawyer (Mark)
My cases generally fall into two categories: the older cases were about men treating women badly, so maybe about sexist jokes or pictures, or that they exclude women from meetings, going with clients to inappropriate client entertainment venues, or relating to personal comments made about the appearance of a woman. So those were the older cases. I think because the men have learnt that lesson, and that’s not what they do anymore. The ongoing cases are around part-time working.
10:16
Part-time work is especially important for women with children. Although embedded in labour laws, many companies don’t allow it. However, high compensation payments have made them think otherwise –as has the realisation that they were losing good employees.
10:32
OT William Garnett, a lawyer (Mark)
Men have got to understand about working with women, and they have been encouraged to do so, because the banks and other financial institutions simply want to recruit the best, and often women are the best.
10:48
One of the foremost figures in the world of finance, the Chairman of the British Bankers' Association, is a woman. She represents more than 220 banks around the world from her office in London.
11:05
Angela Knight actually studied chemical engineering. She was an MP, and then became Financial Secretary. She is a committed advocate of having mixed teams, especially at management level.
11:20
OT Angela Knight, Association of Banks (Angelika)
I do sincerely believe that there is merit in diversity, and merit in having groups and different views. At the same time people should expect to be promoted because of their personal performance and not because they fall into certain categories or they are part of particular criteria.
11:40
So what career advice does the banker offer young women?
11:45
OT Angela Knight, Association of Banks (Angelika)
The first is: go for it! Assume no barriers, because sometimes we can think there are barriers and maybe they’re just not there. When you have to make your decisions, make them. If you want to go higher then carry on! Because the doors are really open. It's not necessarily all going to be perfect, but the doors are open, attitudes have changed. There might be a few problems, but just go for it!
12:12
The debate over the role of women in business is becoming a hot topic in publications across Europe.
-------------------------------------------
12:25
One of Austria's most successful managers is on a business trip in Madrid.
12:33
Brigitte Ederer plays in the top international league: She is on the board of the technology group Siemens. She holds the position of personnel chief for more than 400,000 employees in 190 countries.
She is meeting the head of Siemens Spain. Later, she is in a conference with all of its national managers across south Western Europe.
13:12
In London yesterday, in Madrid today, in Rotterdam tomorrow – this is the everyday work of a top manager.
Informal chats in a cafe are a rare opportunity. Company meetings are usually held in rather less comfortable surroundings.
13:37
Since her retirement from a career in politics Brigitte has enjoyed a meteoric career.
13:50
From the board of directors, to Director-General in Austria, to personnel manager of Siemen’s employees worldwide. Having grown up in modest circumstances in Vienna, Brigitte now helps control a company with annual sales of more than 75 billion Euros and is in charge of 190 national heads, most of them men.
14:22
OT I
Frau Ederer, may I ask you briefly how you manage this; having so many men in dark suits in your wake?
14:28
OT Ederer
To be honest, I'm used to it and it is very interesting. These men are from across Siemens, not only from Spain - today we’re having a larger meeting for the entire cluster of south west Europe, all the leaders, the top people.
14:47
15:01
Top executive in a technology company – how has Brigitte Ederer done this?
15:08
OT Brigitte Ederer, Siemens' head of personnel
There is no recipe or secret, it is high level of commitment over many years, time availability, willingness to change and ultimately to do things, and ultimately a great piece of luck.
15:24
So what does Brigitte Ederer think of the gender quotas being discussed at the moment?
15:32
OT Brigitte Ederer, Siemens' head of personnel
I understand the quota system that has been slowly introduced in the few last years. I understand the concern. I think that there is now a great public pressure. Nothing currently holds in terms of a statutory scheme, but pressure is being applied to provide a transparent business measure. If you do not have demonstrable changes in the next three years, we will introduce the quota. I think that would be the right direction because a company would have three years to respond on its own.
16:10
The tour of the plant continues.
16:18
This is an X-ray device for children, in the shape of a giraffe.
16:25
OT
Harald Stockbauer, company spokesman
What I would observe with a woman like Ederer is that she has a genuinely open mind and finds solutions many others do not find. But I don’t know if that has anything to do with her being a woman, that's just her personality.
16:46
Genuine, down to earth, sociable -
- These are qualities that make Brigitte a good leader.
17:10
But would a career like Brigitte’s have been possible in the 60s?
17:17
Insert top right: NDR-Panorama, 1964
Subtitled:
OT TV NDR-Panorama
What do men say in response to the leadership role being given to a female colleague?
OT div Manger / NDR-Panorama
- No
- no
- No, because I am of the opinion that women judge things too emotionally.
-
- The demands placed on board members are so great that some women would certainly give up after a short time. In my opinion, women don’t have sufficient hardness for this kind of work.
- Why not? Men have asserted themselves into women’s occupations, such as cleaning for instance.
- I have basically no objections to women. The condition is more a human one than their professional qualities.
- I can imagine a lady as a department manager, but there would be difficulties. Please consider that a female director would be exposed to strong criticism from their male employees.
- And it takes a long time for a man to come down from his throne….
18:25
OT Ederer
It's quite frightening when you consider that the arguments more than 40 years ago are very similar to those today. The arguments may be a bit better formulated or considered more acceptable then, but ultimately they are the same: that women don’t have the necessary hardness, which is nonsense. I've learned and experienced in my life that women are at least as rigorous as men.
-----------------------------------------------
19:08
Norway: one of the leading countries in Europe in terms of equal rights, and known for its flourishing quota system.
19:33
Equal rights and opportunities for men and women are legally enforced as well as enshrined in the social consciousness - and are integral to the Scandinavian lifestyle.
19:45
Previously a seafaring people, the traditionally strong and independent women were accustomed to coping alone when their men were at sea for weeks.
19:57
Norway has one of the highest birth rates in Europe. This is due to its progressive family policy, which makes it possible to reconcile job and family. Paternity leave is mandatory, and both parents get 10 months leave on full salary.
20:17
In no other country in the world are there more women in leadership positions. The quota system adopted by the Parliament in Oslo three years ago has changed the economy profoundly.
The so-called gender-law is actually gender neutral: men and women must both be represented on supervisory boards of listed companies by at least 40 percent.
20:44
Silvija Seres originates from the Hungarian part of Serbia. At 18, she arrived in Norway and studied computing and mathematics in Oslo. Now she is an IT Manager at Microsoft Norway – and a technology expert on supervisory boards of six different companies, from a lottery company to a book publisher to an energy company. Traditionally male industries - but Silvija has never considered this a problem.
21:11
OT Silvija Seres, IT and supervisory Mangerin Councillor
Some things you have to accept and some things you have to be aware of and use them in a positive way .. I will always be in the minority in a male industry, but they appreciate me, because there are very few women. You cannot always revolutionise everything and be loudly feminist. You have to stay realistic and pick your fights, and if you fight properly, it is an advantage to be a woman. Because there are few of us and they would like you to be seen.
21:47
21:47
Statistics show that companies are more successful with mixed teams. This is now undisputed in Norway.
21:55
OT Silvija Seres, IT and supervisory Mangerin Councillor (Angelika)
The useful thing is, that it forces the change quicker and it introduces a lot of role models. I do not know if I am one, but if you look at me: I have not inherited this position; no one in my family is in a position of importance. I myself have family, I have children, I am in no way a kind of super-woman, I just worked hard in an area that I like - so it is doable, perhaps girls will think I can do that as well - and this is a good signal for girls.
22:32
22:38
Actually, Silvija is currently on maternity leave with her third child, only her duties as a supervisory board member will continue. The family lives on the outskirts of Oslo. The journey from the office to home takes a good 20 minutes.
22:58
Husband Andrew has picked up the boys from kindergarten.
23:04
Sander is four years old, Thomas two. The youngest is taken care of by an au pair.
23:31
Andrew is an IT manager in a computer company. He took five months paternity leave with Sander - in Norway, this is widely accepted and not uncommon.
23:46
OT Andrew Sorensen, IT manager (Mark)
Silvija returned relatively quickly in her job, she was just about to climb the career ladder and so went back quickly.. I enjoyed the time I was alone with Sander at home very much. With Thomas I didn’t have that and so I’ve not had as much early contact because Silvija was also there. It's really good to have quality time with the child to do the things that make you want to be a father, to have time to do it the way you want to do it, which is not necessarily the same as what she wants.
24.26
24.26
OT Silvija Seres (Angelika)
Norwegian men are great, the best export article Norway has! But seriously, they have revolutionary, feminist mothers who taught their sons to help around the house. They do these things well and know what to do. And they are very good fathers because they spend a lot of time with their children. This is very good, that helps. Being able to work as a woman is completely dependent on having a husband who is willing to help at home.
25.09
25.11
Compulsory paternity leave means that immediately after the birth of child women and men both have temporary leave from their job - a disadvantage for women in their career planning is therefore avoided.
Children aged one are legally entitled to a place in kindergarten, and almost 90 percent of 1 - to 5-year-olds attend.
25.36
OT Silvija Seres (Angelika)
I really think that we live in probably the most privileged country in the world. It is safe here; we know that to provide for children, you can be confident to have a job, we have really great luck. I do not know if I would have three children if I were not here. We need this infrastructure to be able to do that ... I do not know if I would have three children unless I was here, because you need to have the infrastructure around you to be able to do this.
26.07
26.08
Children are a high priority in Norway. As a result of the family friendly employment culture, nearly 80 percent of women in Norway work.
The much-cited quota is met across supervisory boards. At management level it has not yet been fully enforced. Although there are more women in leadership positions than before the quota, and still more than in the rest of Europe, it is still far less than 40 percent.
26.40
Family, children, career - relationships, marriage, household: sometimes, it can be quite overwhelming trying to have it all.
26.53
OT Silvija Seres (Angelika)
Currently, the only thing we do: work and children. We have no time for sports or friends - you have to accept it. This is o.k., so is our life right now. But I think it is worth it because both the work and the family are so fulfilling.
27.17
Reconciling a career with family life is still the big challenge facing women, but as the employment quota pushes for more gender equality, it is also a challenge facing men.
(OPEN, playing off !!!!)
3.28 END