Gender diversity in the ÖBB Rail Cargo Group: an update

What are we focusing on?

Diversity is the future, in every shape and form - whether it is gender, skin colour, nationality, sexual identity, disability, religion or age. The company’s long-term success depends on us drawing on various sources of potential, creativity and experience. Diverse teams are, after all, both the key to success and a real asset for the whole ÖBB Rail Cargo Group!

What are we doing about it?

We are committed to promoting equality on lots of different levels: we address all potential application groups right from the Recruiting stage. Our Human Resources Development team makes sure the most skilled staff are placed in the right jobs. Communication is also crucial for us, because well-informed, actively engaged staff are key to spreading our vision. We’re also making our commitment to greater diversity more visible in how we communicate with the public. This includes, most importantly, the use of gender-inclusive language. We also help our staff deal with the conflicting demands of family and career with models such as paternity leave and flexible childcare for women who want to return to work as soon as possible after maternity leave.

What have we already achieved?

We’re heading in the right direction! However, we’ve still got a long way to go: the transport and logistics industries are traditionally male-dominated. We have already changed this image to a certain extent in recent years with our ongoing diversity strategy. At present, the proportion of women across the RCG is 20.5%, while the proportion of female staff in management positions is 13% in Austria and 19% abroad. We are proud that 45% of our apprentices are female. Positive trends can also be seen in other departments too, for example the proportion of women in our specialist areas of "Technology & Trade" and "Operations & Production" is growing every year.

What’s our goal?

Our goal for the coming years is to increase the proportion of women to 45% for new recruits and to 50% for managers. After all, we’re committed to diversity and are championing equality in order to build the future of a diverse logistics industry together!

Over the next few months, we’ll be presenting how we practise diversity in the ÖBB Rail Cargo Group in our She is #railcore series, and we will be letting not only experts but also staff members from a wide range of departments have their say.