In October, Tatjana Lanvermann succeeded Heidi Kluth as the new Federal Chair of the Women Entrepreneurs in Crafts (UFH). (Photo: © Lanvermann)
Read aloud:
1 December 2021
Interview. Tatjana Lanvermann is the new federal chairwoman of the Women Entrepreneurs in Crafts (UFH). We spoke with her about her goals, female entrepreneurs, and the new girls' project: the "Crafts are also a women's issue here" seal.
Tatjana Lanvermann is the new national chairwoman of the Association of Women Entrepreneurs in Crafts (UFH) . The 52-year-old was elected in October to succeed Heidi Kluth, who led the association for over twelve years. Dirk and Tatjana Lanvermann jointly manage the family business Lanvermann GmbH & Co KG , a heating, plumbing, ventilation, and air conditioning company in Borken-Marbeck with over 50 employees . Their two sons joined the company this summer.
We spoke with the new UFH chairwoman and honorary judge at the Münster Finance Court about her goals and the new girls' project of the Entrepreneurial Women : The seal " Craftsmanship is also women's business here ".
DHB: Ms. Lanvermann, what are your goals as the new Federal Chair of the Women Entrepreneurs in the Skilled Crafts?
Lanvermann: It is particularly important to me to to further strengthen the association and to give the network a unified image. To this end, we already introduced the new campaigns and redesigned our logo under my predecessor. We are in the process of developing a vision for the future, which will then serve as a mission statement and strategy for the coming years. We will pursue this path together with our members.
My personal goal is to rejuvenate the association. Among other things, we want to focus more on female founders . Almost one in four craft businesses is founded by a woman. We want to attract more young female entrepreneurs to our network and support them with our experience as mentors. They should be empowered to lead their businesses and not give up at the first sign of trouble. We hear from many female founders who abandon their businesses after three or four years. We want to be there for these women. But we, the Women Entrepreneurs, also want to learn from them through this exchange. We want to strengthen the craft sector as a whole. And the craft sector can be strengthened by strong businesses.
Craft policy
Operations management
Operations management
Last but not least, we want to bring the importance of dual leadership in craft businesses back into sharper focus. Around 75 percent of all craft businesses are family-run, jointly managed by a man and a woman. To fully realize their potential, there is still a need for training and support, which we intend to address. Our visibility and the interests of women entrepreneurs in the craft sector need to be more prominently featured. Together with craft organizations, we can make the potential of women in the craft sector more visible and accessible. In this endeavor, we are also counting on the support and involvement of our craft organizations and their committees.
DHB: The women entrepreneurs have launched a new project, the awarding of the seal "Crafts are also a women's business here." What does this mean?
Lanvermann: Each of our 4.500 UFH members can apply for the Seal "Crafts are also a women's business here" It's intended to show the public that we are open to girls in the skilled trades. At the same time, it's intended to signal to girls that the company bearing the seal is open to female applicants. We want to make it easier for girls to enter the skilled trades. At the end of January, we will distribute the first seals to companies. This will allow companies to indicate, right from the application round for the new training year, that girls and women are welcome in their company. My predecessor, Heidi Kluth, announced the project and at the same time said to me, "You're taking this to the streets." The response from our members has been tremendous. This is the right tool at the right time.
DHB: Why is networking so important, especially for women in the skilled trades?
Lanvermann: The exchange with the network is very important to the businesswomen. Both professionally, entrepreneurially and socially. And this network is becoming ever larger and more stable. For example, since October, we have had Website a tool, where you can enter and find all businesses. The number of red dots there shows how broadly we are positioned. Women Entrepreneurs in the Skilled Crafts are a large and, above all, active network with more than 100 working groups nationwide.
DHB: How could we ensure that even more women become involved in self-governing crafts?
Lanvermann: The proportion of women at the top of self-governing craft industries is still very low, but it's increasing, as can be seen from the examples of Carola Zarth, president of the Berlin Chamber of Crafts, and Susanne Haus of the Frankfurt-Rhine-Main Chamber of Crafts. However, it's still not easy for young women to start a business. Women often have a greater need for security. Balancing family planning and volunteer work presents challenges. The women entrepreneurs are role models that demonstrate how this can work. We want to motivate and engage young women with this goal and share our experiences with them.
DHB: What could be a useful tool here?
Lanvermann: At the state level in NRW, I have the project "Operational assistance" for the craft sector and thus made it to the state parliament's Enquete Commission. The project is geared toward providing farm assistance. If an agricultural entrepreneur is unable to work, a farm assistant comes in to keep the business running. I would like to see this for the skilled trades as well. Not as assistance in the skilled trades, where there is usually a solution, but for commercial activities, so that, for example, salaries and invoices continue to be paid and offers can be written. For example, if the boss is on parental leave want to go or cancel at short notice. The starting signal for this was also given by one of our federal association sponsors, the Signal Iduna, by offering a new owner's disability insurance policy. This covers the event that the boss is absent due to illness or accident. However, I'm still missing parental leave and caregiver leave.
DHB: How did you come to be involved with the women entrepreneurs?
Lanvermann: Exactly 23 years ago, in November 1998, I co-founded the UFH working group in Borken. I know this so well because I was unable to attend the founding meeting myself. I was about to give birth to our son at the time. Three years later, I was elected to the board, 13 years ago I joined the NRW regional association as vice-chair, and three years later I was able to take over the regional chair. This year, I handed that over to Juana Bleker to prepare myself for the national association. It is certainly a demanding task, as we also have the business. I am also committed to developing the Volunteer Academy of Crafts.NRWI hope that together with the other associations, we can further advance the skilled trades and strengthen their image. This also applies to volunteers, because without volunteers, our skilled trades won't survive. And the Women Entrepreneurs project is truly my passion.
The interview was conducted by Kirsten Freund.
Federal Chair: Tatjana Lanvermann
Deputy Federal Chairwoman: Angelika Baur-Schermbach
Treasurer: Iris Leisenheimer
Press spokesperson: Heike Trapp
Secretary: Beate Bliedtner
Manager: Miriam Schulze
DHB is now also available digitally! Simply click here and register for the digital DHB!
Newsletter
Write a comment