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Starting steps for computer science

After a round of getting to know each other, our developer Monika shared how she trained for her profession. She told the girls what subject matter should be expected when studying computer science and what job possibilities exist afterwards. She then answered questions regarding choosing a profession and everyday life on the job.

Workshop: How email protocols works

Afterwards, there was a more detailed look into working as a developer. Our team explained to the students what protocols are, what role they have in the global exchange of information – and how the SMTP protocol (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) is used for transferring emails.

Finally, it was the girls’ turn: With help from Anne, a team leader from our technical support, they could communicate with an email server using SMTP protocol, enter commands and deliver emails from the command line.

Choosing a field of study or profession without gender stereotypes

Our Girls’Day Team enjoyed the day very much. “The girls were awesome and it was nice to see how motivated they are”, said Posteo developer Monika. “It was not just important for us to give them insight into software development. As women working in IT, we also wanted to show that they are not bound by antiquated gender roles. We hope that they had just as much fun as we did and that they have become even more confident about their potential career choices.”

Girls’Day is a day of action for career guidance in Germany. On this day, girls in the 5th grade and higher can gain more insight into jobs that are primarily chosen by men.
This includes software development. Posteo’s development team has a balanced ratio between men and women. Many of our features were programmed by women: for example the Posteo migration service, our mobile user interface, the attachment browser with photo stream – and also our new dark mode. But it’s not like that everywhere: In computer science studies and in the technology sector, women in Germany are still strongly under-represented.

After the jury nominated us for the award in the “small company (up to 50 employees)” category, the final decision was made by the audience on Thursday evening during Deutsche Bahn’s “Mobility Symposium”. Afterwards, Posteo founder, Patrik Löhr and Dean Ceulic, accepted the award from Deutsche Bahn executive board member, Stefanie Berk.
We are pleased about the award!

An overview of our award-winning mobility program

Our team consists of 40 employees spread out all over Germany. Our mobility program is a part of the entire company’s sustainability strategy – over the years we have continued to expand upon it.

No Flights Policy: For climate protection reasons, we have refrained entirely from aeroplane travel already since our founding in 2009. In our experience, we have found that many destinations in continental Europe are also very accessible by train with regard to business trips.

Facilitating environmentally-friendly trips: Since 2014, we grant our employees 2 additional vacation days per year if they refrain from using aeroplanes when travelling abroad privately – and we also contribute towards travel costs (150 €, net) for the train ticket. Our intention with this voluntary offer is to create an incentive for environmentally-friendly trips by train and to compensate with additional vacation days for the longer journey. Since many years, this offer has been adopted and valued by our team.

Remote Positions: Most team members can work fully remotely as their positions allow for this. This reduces commuting and CO2 mobility-related emissions. We have decided to continue to offer remote work on an ongoing basis, even after the pandemic.

Free public transportation ticket: We provide all employees with a public transportation ticket free of charge. In fact, this also applies for those who work exclusively remotely or do not live in Berlin, where our company is located.

Accessible location: our offices are located centrally in Berlin and are easy to reach using public transportation, by bike or by foot.

Bike repair: we cover maintenance and repair costs, including replacement parts, for bikes that are also used for travelling to work. Our team gladly takes advantage of this offer. Additionally, we have rented car parking spots in the underground garage located beneath our office to set up secure bike parking.

Idea pool for companies

The “Climate Mobility Challenge” (German link) is a competition from Deutsche Bahn for companies and organisations to make sustainable employee and event mobility visible:
Company mobility policies are presented from a wide range of industries and company sizes on the competition website. As a result, it also serves as an idea pool for companies that are searching for sustainable mobility solutions.

In total, 54 companies participated in the competition this year. There were three categories: small, medium and large companies. Additionally, there was a special award in the “event mobility” category. In total, there have already been 120 mobility policies presented on Deutsche Bahn’s idea platform

“Employers are multipliers, bear responsiblity and can do a lot to avoid emissions through company policies. At Posteo, we also try to incentivise more climate protection in everyday life with free additional benefits for our team. Participating in the competition motivated us to expand upon this”, said Posteo founder, Patrik Löhr, during the award presentation.

Starting steps for computer science

After a round of getting to know each other, our developer Monika shared how she trained for her profession. She told the girls what subject matter should be expected when studying computer science and what job possibilities exist afterwards. She then answered questions regarding choosing a profession and everyday life on the job.

Workshop: How email protocols works

Afterwards, there was a more detailed look into working as a developer. Our team explained to the students what protocols are, what role they have in the global exchange of information – and how the SMTP protocol (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) is used for transferring emails.

Finally, it was the girls’ turn: With help from Anne, a team leader from our technical support, they could communicate with an email server using SMTP protocol, enter commands and deliver emails from the command line.

Choosing a field of study or profession without gender stereotypes

Our Girls’Day Team enjoyed the day very much. “We want to give girls the chance to meet women who work in software development and by doing so contribute to changing old role models. The profession is multifaceted, attractive and it should be normal for girls to pursue it if they are interested,” says Posteo developer, Monika. “It was so nice to see how motivated the girls were to participate. We will definitely take part again next year.”

Girls’Day is a day of action for career guidance in Germany. On this day, girls in the 5th grade and higher can gain more insight into jobs that are primarily chosen by men.
This includes software development. Posteo’s development team has a balanced ratio between men and women. Many of our features were programmed by women: for example the Posteo migration service, our mobile user interface, the attachment browser with photo stream – and also our new dark mode. But it’s not like that everywhere: In computer science studies and in the technology sector, women in Germany are still strongly under-represented.