The mentoring programme for women entered its 13th round on 25 April. The mentoring programme specifically supports female employees in preparing for a management role or developing further in a management role. Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Manager Anja-Christina Schwenck is now responsible for organising the programme.

Ms Schwenck, the women's mentoring programme is now entering its 13th round. What goals is ERGO pursuing with the programme?

There are actually three goals. Because everyone involved really benefits from the programme: mentees, mentors and ERGO as a whole. Firstly, we give talented female employees a valuable opportunity for professional and personal development and to build networks, and secondly, we as a company have the opportunity to fill management positions internally with qualified women. And thirdly, the mentors also gain added value, learn from the joint dialogue and reflect on their own leadership behaviour.

How is the programme structured?

The mentoring programme has been running annually since 2012 with around 20 tandems. It is therefore an important component of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Management at ERGO. For one year, the employee or "mentee" is in regular dialogue with an experienced ERGO manager - the "mentor" - about their professional and personal development. Specific seminars and a group task round off the programme.

Who are the mentors and what are their tasks?

Members of the Board of Management, division managers and department heads from across the ERGO Group take on the role of mentor in this programme. The ideal mentor is interested in and enjoys the development of other people, has patience - and is also willing to learn from the mentee.

In concrete terms, this means the mentor is: 

• Counsellor: He or she advises the mentee and helps to develop strategies for achieving work goals, but without immediately presenting his or her own solutions.
• Motivator: He or she encourages the mentee to participate in promising projects and encourages them to take on tasks that increase their visibility in the company, especially for key decision-makers.
• Partner: He or she listens to the mentee, meets them as equals and treats their thoughts and ideas confidentially.
• contributes his or her experience and ideas to the discussions.
• Reviewer: He or she gives the mentee critical and constructive feedback.
• Moderator: He or she supports the mentee in developing realistic, short-term and long-term career goals. He or she discusses and develops steps together with the mentee to achieve the goals.
• Coach: He or she helps the mentee to recognise and develop their own skills and abilities.geber/Ratgeberin: Er oder sie steht der Mentee beratend zur Seite und hilft, Strategien zur Erreichung der Arbeitsziele zu entwickeln, ohne jedoch sofort eigene Lösungswege zu präsentieren.

It is particularly important to me to take this opportunity to say thank you once again for the commitment of the mentors!

What successes or changes can be attributed to the programme?

The programme has been running very successfully for twelve years now, and around 240 female employees have taken part so far. Of these mentees, 70 per cent have taken on their first or a next higher management role after completing the programme. The programme thus contributes to the Gender Ambition and the goals set therein. 40 per cent women in management positions by 2025 was the target set for ERGO, which we already achieved in the fourth quarter of 2023 with 41.1 per cent. But that's not all...

What do you personally associate with the women's mentoring programme that you are now responsible for?

For me personally, taking responsibility for the programme is a matter close to my heart. I have been working in HR at ERGO for 22 years - exactly two years ago I became part of the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion team at an extremely exciting time, when diversity - now correctly called Diversity, Equity & Inclusion - was becoming increasingly important and its strategic relevance was finally being recognised.

I myself took part in the 2nd round of the mentoring programme and therefore know from my own experience how wonderful and valuable this programme is. I am therefore particularly pleased that I am now in charge of the programme. I am joining the programme with the aim of making a contribution to increasing the proportion of women in management positions at the relevant reporting levels 1 and 2 at ERGO in Germany. We still have a way to go here, and we are clearly supporting this with the mentoring programme.

How do you see the future of the programme?

I would like to say: "Maybe in a few years' time, there will no longer be a need for a programme like this specifically for women!" That would be desirable. But if I'm honest, I suspect that it will be necessary to continue to engage in dialogue on the topic of gender in particular - for mutual understanding - for working for and with each other.

For us, however, diversity, equity & inclusion means much more than individual dimensions such as gender and generations. At DEI Management, we are primarily concerned with a holistic understanding. In addition to gender, we have many other supporting DEI measures and initiatives in our extensive DEI portfolio, which we are constantly developing, planning and implementing.

DEI concerns us all and there is something in it for each and every one of us!

Thank you very much for this interview!

Interview: Kristina Tewes

Further information

Information on mentoring at ERGO 

Interview with mentor Rolf Mertens: "Our exchange is a give and take - very enriching"

ERGO has been focussing on mentoring for ten years