Springer upgrading target for number of women at the top
Publishing house Axel Springer has upgraded its targets for women in top management positions. In a recent statement about diversion and inclusion, the company increased the target to 40% group-wide from earlier 30%
The group is one of Europe’s biggest publishers with titles like Bild and Welt but the company has over the last few years expanded into English-speaking markets and most recently bought Politico and Politico Europe. It earlier bought Insider and tried to buy Financial Times.
The company was recently in focus when it fired the editor-in-chief of big-selling Bild, Julian Reichelt, after an article in the New York Times accusing the publisher of trying to downplay an investigation of sexual misconduct and bullying at the Bild office.
Johannes Boie, new editor-in-chief of Bild, has now appointed two women to serve on the extended editorial board, the publisher has announced. Linna Nickel and Antje Schippmann are new at Bild’s editorial board. Both of them have until now held other editorial positions at the newspaper.
We will not tolerate one millimeter of abuse of power or harassment, intimidation or worse, Boie said in a interview.
Axel Springer in its diversity and inclusion statement commits to a Group-wide target of 40 % women in top management positions by 2026.
“With the move, the company aims to send a clear message and reverse a recent slight decline in gender balance. In this context, Axel Springer is also working on measures to improve the visibility and representation of non-binary people and to reflect that effort in the targets”, the company said.
“At the same time, the units of Axel Springer have committed to setting their own targets for greater gender diversity on their other management levels as well. Due to the different conditions and background circumstances, the respective target ranges are between 30 per cent and 50 per cent.”
Media and technology company Axel Springer is active in more than 40 countries. It has stated that its goal is to be a global market leader in digital content and digital classifieds through accelerated growth. The company is headquartered in Berlin and employs more than 16,000 people worldwide.
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