Female Excellence

What makes working at zeb special for you?

"Reasoning is key—it’s not about where you come from, what position you are in or what background you have!"

What makes working at zeb special for you?

"Content over hierarchy—every idea is listened to regardless of your hierarchy level. " 

What makes working at zeb special for you?

“The working atmosphere at zeb is warm and pleasant.“

How would you describe the atmosphere at zeb?

"Relaxed, family-like, open and friendly."

What makes working at zeb special for you?

„The overall mindset is to support you, whatever your aspirations.“

The power of networking: that was the theme of the women@zeb initiative’s networking event, which took place in Frankfurt. The event started with a joint dinner and continued the next day with exciting presentations on the topic of networking. The event was rounded off by an interactive workshop with Burcu Arslan from the women’s business network nushu. Interesting input, numerous conversations and a record-breaking number of participants – the women@zeb meeting was once again hugely successful!

#Iamremarkable: For the first time this year, we organized a meeting of our internal network women@zeb in Münster. Our female colleagues traveled from our various European locations to network and share experiences and ideas. The event was all about female empowerment: over the course of the afternoon, our colleagues addressed topics such as leadership behavior, hacks for their careers, and their own visibility. Leadership expert Anke Walossek gave an exciting talk entitled “Think manager – think (fe)male – Are women the better managers?”, and in the workshop “#I am remarkable” our colleagues reflected on their personal strengths.

Teambuilding & challenges in Münster: The last networking event of the women@zeb initiative in 2022 took place in Münster. The PULS location, which was chosen for the event, is characterized by its industrial charm. In this atmosphere, Annegret Saxe, deputy member of the board of Sparkasse Münsterland Ost, started off by giving a guest lecture in which she addressed the question: “How can we make ESG come true?”. Besides a pitch duel and some team challenges organized by Strong Partners, the focus was on networking. The evening was rounded off with delicious catering by Al Hayatt and refreshing drinks – and whoever wanted to could stay and continue partying at PULS even after the event ended. 

“For a woman, you’re already doing a pretty good job” – in order to quickly find a fitting response to inappropriate comments, we worked on our power of speech as part of the last women@zeb network meeting. On June 29, about 50 female consultants convened for this purpose. First, Mariesa, Melanie and Yola gave them theoretical input on rhetorical strategies, and then they tried out these tips in an interactive exercise. The day ended with a delicious bowl-meal and many exciting conversations on the roof terrace of POHA House Münster.

How the right question can be a game changer: At our women@zeb fall event, our female colleagues met in Hamburg for a hybrid reunion. During an exciting workshop, Stefanie, Lisa, Lena and Susanne demonstrated how the right and targeted question can steer conversations in new directions. The event was followed by a lunch where there was plenty of time to talk to each other in person, which we sorely missed last year – therefore, we are already very much looking forward to next time!

Bagels, consulting and networking above the rooftops of Hamburg: At this network meeting, our colleagues Maire and Svea took the participants on a journey through the zeb world and provided exciting insights into their day-to-day work. Afterwards, they had some coffee and bagels on the rooftop terrace of the Hamburg office to deepen their discussions and enjoy the view!

A day in the world of management consulting: Girls’Day  is an opportunity for young schoolgirls to spend a day exploring male-dominated professional fields. At zeb, the participants were given insights into the work of IT consultants. First, they got to know the company as a whole as well as some of our female consultants. Then, they were presented with a case they could solve themselves in a fun and playful manner.

Online Career Boost: two exciting webinars took place in spring, which were aimed at supporting women in their professional development. One of these webinars was a job application training course where the participants could have their CVs checked and do a mock interview. The other was on personal branding: our colleagues Jennifer and Katalin showed the participants how to make the most of LinkedIn when it comes to building a career in Consulting.

herCAREER | the platform for women's careers: this year, we once again had a booth at the herCAREER trade fair. We brought a stand-up display and some goodies and got to know many friendly and interested visitors over the course of two days. In addition to visiting our booth, people had the opportunity to join a meet-up with our consultant Sandra, where she discussed the differences between short- and long-term career paths in the consulting industry. We are already looking forward to meeting you at next year’s herCAREER trade fair!

Yoga & Wine in Munich: the second event of our networking series took place in the capital of Bavaria. Some female students and graduates got together for a yoga session with integrated wine tasting. In poses such as the warrior or the downrad-facing dog, the participants not only proved their sporting prowess, but at the same time tried a few wines as well. Afterwards, there was time to have a chat with our colleagues Sonja and Annika and to enjoy the rest of the evening over a few snacks.

Natural Wine Tasting in Berlin: in August, we hosted the first event of our networking series, an easily accessible networking format, intended to appeal in particular to women who had never heard of zeb before. Berlin was chosen as the event location, since we also wanted to try something new. In Berlin-Neukölln we met with female students and graduates in a wine bar for a natural wine tasting. In a relaxed atmosphere, they gained insights into the everyday consulting work at zeb and could ask our colleagues Juliane and Svea any questions they had about the professional field. The next event will be held in Munich in October – we already look forward to it!

Five months of mentoring, events and job shadowing: At the kick-off event for our new mentoring program “Inside zeb: Women in Consulting”, our mentors gave ten female students an exciting insight into the world of consulting over the course of a weekend. The first day started with lunch in the zeb.tower to give all participants the opportunity to get to know each other. Afterwards, they were officially welcomed by our Partner Dr. Katrin Lumma. Then, the students had the opportunity to get in touch with our mentors. An enjoyable evening at the harbor concluded the first day. The next day began with breakfast and a tour of Münster’s old town, followed by a cooking workshop at POHA House.
It was a wonderful kick-off with many great participants and many inspiring conversations! We are excited to see what awaits us in the rest of the program!

Power Breakfast in Frankfurt: in June, we held our annual Power Breakfast – female students, graduates and young professionals had the chance to exchange ideas with our consultants over breakfast. As the meeting took place at the zeb office, the participants were also able to gain a first impression of our premises in Frankfurt. The three colleagues Tabea, Elvira and Lena talked about their individual career paths and answered all the participants’ questions. We’re already looking forward to the next event! 

Magdeburg, June 2022: at this year’s JCNetwork Days, we once again enjoyed a great program to which our colleagues Katharina, Mariesa and Emiliya contributed a mini case. In small groups, different solutions were presented and “challenged” by our three consultants to provide insights into their daily consulting and project work. Later on, at the opening session, Katharina talked about her personal experience and about new ways of working at zeb. In the evening, we met with many other students from Germany, Austria and Switzerland at our zeb exhibition stand and had the opportunity to engage in exciting discussions. 
At the end, we all agreed: the whole event was an immediate success!