Progress through diversity

08 Mar 2023
Ines Angele is a BIM expert at ZÜBLIN and works as a team leader in the facade technology department. We talked to her about her job and the topic of equal opportunities in the Group.
Image of an employee
  • The basic requirement for me is that diversity - and not just in terms of gender - is lived and an inclusive environment is created for employees.

    Ines Angele
    BIM team leader in the field of facade technology at ZÜBLIN

How did you come to ZÜBLIN?
After working as a bachelor student at ZÜBLIN Fassadentechnik in 2015, I wanted to start my professional life directly - but also against the background that I am convinced that continuous development and lifelong learning belong together. That's why it was clear to me even then that entering professional life should not be the end of my academic training. When I arrived in my entry-level position after my trainee program and had thus mastered the start, it was time to continue my academic career. Since this is compatible with part-time studies and, thanks to the great support from the employer, also with full-time work, I wanted to take advantage of this opportunity and wrote my master's thesis "Integration of Subcontractors with BIM" based on a practical case at ZÜBLIN.

What do you appreciate about your work?
The topic of BIM has gripped me from the very beginning, that is, since I joined ZÜBLIN as a bachelor student in 2015. And although I have remained true to the topic, there is so much going on with BIM at the moment that it never becomes routine. I find that particularly appealing, because I need the variety and challenge. What I particularly like about my job as a BIM team leader in facade technology is the creative possibilities and how much we can move and advance together as a team.

How big is the share of women in your field?
In my immediate environment, we are actually approaching a 50/50 ratio, and I think that's great. But our department and also the team I lead not only have a balanced gender ratio - we are also diverse in terms of background, age and education. I see that as a success factor: everyone contributes different perspectives and ways of thinking, and together we achieve the best results.

What is your general experience of gender equality in the Group?
First of all, I think it's great that diversity is practiced here and that we have an inclusive environment in which everyone is valued. At the same time, however, I still see room for improvement when it comes to reducing career barriers for women. For me, this includes, for example, taking into account different communication cultures and access to networks, as well as the presence of female role models across all levels. The current situation is that the higher up the career ladder you look, the lower the proportion of women. This imbalance should be eliminated. This requires a real commitment from the Group to the advancement of women. But you can't just pull on one side, that would be thinking too simply. It also requires each of us to accept our social responsibility. Everyone can ask themselves how equal they live every day, how inclusive they behave. Only together can we tackle such a challenging task.