Although 28 percent of employees are women, the proportion of female managers in senior management is only ten percent across the group, in the Top Executive Group only four percent.

That is why E.ON Energie, E.ON Ruhrgas and the Corporate Center launched the Women@Energy study. A 2007 scientific study connected to the project found that an outdated understanding of roles and the inability to balance work and family were the main reasons for the low number of women in leading positions. However, in the last few years more and more women and men have been able to move away from the "classical roles" and pursue individual life and career plans. In the future, E.ON wants to make better use of highly qualified women with potential and aims to create the conditions for making this possible. As part of the Women@Energy project, E.ON is aiming to improve in areas like "Improving the balance between family and work", "Changing the management culture" and "Breaking down gender stereotypes".

What should working life at E.ON be like so women can capitalize on their opportunities more easily? What can be done to generate more interest in technical careers among women? How can more women reach managerial positions? These and other questions were posed by IngE, the groupwide network for female engineers launched in the spring of 2007. The number of women involved in the project has doubled since it was initiated. Women from all market units use the network as a platform to identify common targets and improve opportunities and prospects for female engineers. The program is supported by top company management: Christoph Dänzer-Vanotti, HR Director at E.ON AG, has acted as the project’s patron since November 2007.

One of the foundations of our work is cooperating with Femtec GmbH, the Berlin-based career center for women in engineering and natural sciences. We signed a five year cooperation contract with Femtec in July 2007. Femtec creates motivation and training programs to help spark interest in engineering and natural sciences among young women, as well as working to improve entry and promotion opportunities for women in technical careers.

Even today, girls are frequently choosing typically "female" occupations. Since 2001, young women in Germany have had the opportunity to learn about technical occupations at the annual Girl's Day. The initiative is supported by numerous institutions such as the Federal Ministry of Family Affairs and the EU. Girl's Day is a tradition at E.ON Ruhrgas. Female students were once again invited to inform themselves about career opportunities in the energy sector in 2007, when E.ON Energie participated for the first time.