‘Stern’ Wants More Women In Management Positions

The chief editors of the G+J magazine “Stern” sign an agreement to improve equal opportunity in key positions. In the next few years, 50 percent of the management positions will be staffed with women. To achieve this goal, the magazine suggests concise steps: for example, at least 30 percent of the people considered in the final selection for management positions shall be women, and a mentoring program will enable female juniors to qualify for management positions. Many of the steps, as “Stern” announced in a press release yesterday, are oriented towards processes that Female Factor, G+J’s gender diversity initiative, has already established.

The target agreement negotiated together with editors-in-chief Thomas Osterkorn and Andreas Petzold, was presented at a full meeting of the “Stern” editors and passed by the majority. Andreas Petzold, Editor-in-Chief of “Stern”, says, “We are delighted that the ‘Stern’ editors support this progressive agreement.”

The idea was born in the spring 2012. During a meeting, the “Stern” women took a look at the actual state of equal opportunity in their own editorial team: 30 percent of the management positions are staffed with women, but rarely in divisions where important decisions about journalistic content are made. In the following dialog with the chief editors, a result that is satisfactory for all parties was achieved.

Brigitte Huber, Editor-in-Chief of “Brigitte” and member of the steering committee of Female Factor, says, “This is a smart and contemporary step and I would like to congratulate the colleagues of ‘Stern’ for taking it. Mixed teams are simply able to achieve more. They think in a more diversified way and are more successful. I am therefore certain that if the target agreement is followed by deeds, the entire editorial team will profit.”