Female spirit with a pull

The article was conducted by  Elisabeth Hell  and first published in the Raiffeisenzeitung on March 9, 2023. 

The number of female role models at Raiffeisen is steadily increasing. However, there is still work to be done to ensure equal opportunities in careers, especially when it comes to taking on management roles - and not just at Raiffeisen, as the new BCG Gender Diversity Index for Austria shows. 

Any change process requires an interplay of several factors. The management level must support it, and it takes a lot of communication. “People have to understand why change is necessary," says Elisabeth Geyer-Schall , Head of Agile Transformation and Group IT Delivery at RBI, describing her daily work. Agile transformation is necessary to create something new, she says. "A change process is sometimes a big, cumbersome act that needs a lot of accompaniment. It often goes much easier in small steps," says the RBI manager with many years of experience in development processes. 

She also transfers her insights to other areas. For many years, Geyer-Schall has been committed to promoting women and equal opportunities: "I have a deep sense of justice and still see a lot of need for action, especially in IT." IT is still a male-dominated world, she says, even though it's not just programmers who are in demand in the IT sector, but a wide variety of different profiles and skills. These stereotypes need to be broken down. Geyer-Schall is proud that among the 500 or so employees for whom she is responsible in her area, the proportion of women is now 30 to 35 percent, and rising: "We are not yet where we should be, but something is moving. We're getting more and more female spirit in, even at management level."

For her commitment to women, especially in IT, Elisabeth Geyer-Schall was nominated this year for the Minerva Award, the Austrian prize for more diversity in business, in the category "Role Model/Female Leader". Even though she ultimately did not make it to the finals, the nomination alone brought her a lot of encouragement and positive feedback from the entire RBI Group. The fact that she was nominated for this award by her female colleagues is already a clear sign of the role model she is. "As a manager, it is simply important to me to tap people's potential and help them to develop," says Geyer-Schall, explaining her management style. 

Slow improvement

Executive bodies are becoming increasingly female, according to the Boston Consulting Group's (BCG) Gender Diversity Index. Since 2018, the 50 largest listed companies in Austria have been analyzed for gender diversity in top management and ranked based on parity and compensation of the management and supervisory boards. Women are now represented on the management board in three out of ten companies – twice as much as in 2018. However, the growth rates are slowing down. At the current rate of development, a balanced ratio of women and men on Austria's management boards would not be in sight for another 30 years. In 2022, the proportion of women on supervisory boards stagnated at an average of 29 percent, just below the legally required quota. However, a new EU requirement stipulates a quota of at least 40 percent by 2026. 

The low representation of women in management positions has many causes, which are rooted in the individual environment, the social environment, but also in the company. A strategy to increase the proportion of women therefore requires a wide range of measures. This begins with the compatibility of work and family, the selection and further development of female talent, and ends with anchoring the increase in the proportion of women as a management task. 

The Gender Diversity Index shows that men were five times more likely than women to be appointed to new positions this year – out of 19 new Management Board positions, only three were filled with women. To date, there are only four female CEOs compared to 46 men. Diversity starts at the grassroots level, which is why Geyer-Schall already takes care to promote women with potential in applications and build them up for the succession pool in the long term. The RBI manager does not accept the often-heard excuse that no qualified women can be found for certain positions: "They do exist! It just takes a commitment, a will and a conviction that having diversity in teams makes a difference." It is a fact that gender diversity in companies is a driver of innovation, customer focus and better financial metrics. 

Set and review targets

But because these insights have not penetrated all minds even in 2023, many places have to discipline themselves and work with quotas, she said. "You can't turn some systems around without getting that discipline from the outside," observes Geyer-Schall. The fact that target figures work is demonstrated by the women's quota for management boards introduced in Germany in 2021, which increased the proportion of management boards with at least one woman to 59 percent – twice as high as in Austria. Regular mandatory reporting on the proportion of women also ensures commitment and transparency. In Germany, this obligation exists not only for the Management Board and Supervisory Board, but also for the two levels below the Management Board. This is also intended to focus attention on the important issue of succession planning. 

At RBI, a Group-wide target of 35 percent for women on the Supervisory Board, Management Board and at the second management level by 2024 was already adopted in 2017. In the previous year, this ratio rose from 33 to 34 per cent in the RBI Group. At RBI in Vienna, the target proportion of women in senior management is 30 per cent. In 2022, the proportion of women increased significantly from 22 to 27 percent. Geyer-Schall is also convinced that these targets were important and the right approach. In the company ranking of the BCG Gender Diversity Index, RBI is thus in the midfield. 

Simulation for top positions

For promotions, it is also important to work strongly on the visibility of qualified women. Geyer-Schall has therefore recently established a format for hearing simulation, where trial runs are offered to interested women. "It's amazing how many great women have performed there and what they can do." 

To increase visibility, Group IT Delivery also established the Women Empowerment Cercle in 2017. The goal is to create an exchange space for women, give them inspiration formats and provide fresh input. "Above all, we also want to strengthen self-esteem," says Geyer-Schall. Up to 150 IT women come together here, for example, at panel discussions or at the virtual "Clubhouse." 

Another success story is the Women Empowerment Journey, a guided self-development program for female employees in Group IT that was launched in February 2021 and has since been extended to the entire COO/CIO area at RBI. The program focuses on the topics of "inner and outer self, visibility in the organization, and networking." 45 women have already completed this personal educational journey, and 25 new participants have started the current run. 

Visible role models

The more women take on leadership roles and have a public presence, the greater the pull on the female workforce. Companies with more than 30 percent female supervisory board members have, on average, twice as many women on their boards as those that do not meet the supervisory board quota. Female top managers should therefore be more active role models in traditional and social media, recommend the study authors from the Boston Consulting Group. Because the analysis also shows that female board members are underrepresented in the media compared to their male colleagues. 

Elisabeth Geyer-Schall also sees it as her task to make her presence known to the outside world, thereby encouraging other women: "This is not an ego thing, but I realize that it is important for my female colleagues that I make myself visible and communicate that we value a diverse environment. I've done that far too rarely in the past." 

Geyer-Schall herself has always been inspired by people who are straightforward, who embody authenticity and who drive positive sustainable development. She has always been supported by her managers, but also admits, "For a long time, I felt like I had every opportunity and there was no limit. At some point, though, there comes a point where you realize there may be male rope teams where they support each other better. That's something we women haven't quite gotten around to yet." She has always worked hard, sometimes twice as hard as a man, she said. These personal experiences probably explain her strong commitment to the issue.