Ruf Lanz: Effective female streetcar drivers wanted for VBZ
They’ve been impossible to miss since August: the large VBZ posters advertising for female tram drivers. And right next to them, the tiny little posters advertising for male tram drivers.
The unconventional personnel campaign is having an effect, as even the NZZ reported. According to statistics, only 16 percent of women have applied for a place in the driver's cab so far. In September and October, 31 percent of applications were submitted by women, according to Jörg Buckmann, Head of Personnel Management at VBZ. This means that the proportion of applications from women has almost doubled.
This is also astonishing because a flood of dossiers from men arrived at the same time: According to Buckmann, a total of 500 people applied for the streetcar driver positions in the two months. Normally, the demand is much lower. On average, there are only 100 to 150 applicants per month in this area, says Buckmann.
