Integration of Women in the Workplace
In the office
Our flexible working arrangements are particularly welcomed by women who cannot always combine the inflexible working hours of a conventional working day with family commitments. At Comet, women are employed according to their qualifications and trained appropriately. Some women who work at Comet have not been able to find fitting positions in other companies, despite their professional skills. Reasons commonly given are that they might become pregnant or want to work part-time. Discouraged by the working conditions in the IT industry (under evaluation, sexist tones of speech, isolated position), many women either avoid the industry completely or consider changing profession. In our company, women and men work together on equal terms, and women can be enthusiastic about the IT world. If women and men are treated as equals in all areas of society, new ways of life and working arrangements will be more readily accepted.
In the industry
By virtue of their competent and committed work, the women at Comet are successful in an industry that is still largely dominated by men. Working in technical documentation constantly requires contact with different people. It is only possible to produce documentation of the highest quality if all those involved cooperate closely and productively. As projects often take an unexpected course, a high degree of flexibility is required to produce the desired results in the given time frame. Women are especially adept in this area, being able to adapt to changes and finding it easier to cope with unexpected situations. We even have part-time employees in management positions. Our competent employees never fail to impress our customers. Our projects are always completed successfully, which is one reason why our customers often reconsider their own staffing policies and working conditions.
In our products
Comet writes documentation to be read by men and women. Women and men should be addressed equally, so that everyone can identify with the content. Just how to do this is outlined in the Comet publication, "Guidelines – for Equal Rights in Technical Documentation" (in German). These guidelines have been adopted by Microsoft in their style guide and were used, for the first time ever, in the German translation of all Windows 95 documentation, with the aim of improving the image of women in technical documentation.