• Pioneer for family support has been enabling equal job opportunities for men and women for two decades
• Company kindergarten is an attractive location factor
• Certified care concept supports early childhood education in the areas of STEM, sustainability, and health

The Wintershall Dea company kindergarten KiWi is celebrating its 20^th anniversary. It opened its doors for the first time on 6 August 2001 for 30 children of colleagues at the headquarters in Kassel. Since then, the team has looked after around 500 girls and boys from over 20 nations aged from zero to 12 while their parents were working for the company. The company runs the day care centre and accompanying nursery together with the institution Impuls Soziales Management Die Familienexperten gGmbH.

On behalf of the entire company, Wintershall Dea CEO Mario Mehren congratulates KiWi on this anniversary and thanks the kindergarten for the collaboration: “The extensive, innovative and inclusive childcare offered by the KiWi daycare centre has also shaped the workforce at Wintershall Dea. Through this cooperation we have been supporting families at the company for 20 years and, in so doing, helping to reconcile family and working life – for mothers and fathers. The childcare at KiWi also allows parents a flexible return to work after being on parental leave.” The long opening hours of the day care centre also allow colleagues with children to plan their working hours individually, hence boosting their work-life balance.

Support in reconciling family and a working life is an important factor for recruiting and retaining employees. Petra Angstmann, SVP Global Human Resources at Wintershall Dea, emphasizes: “The company kindergarten is a clear location advantage for us in Kassel. It improves the appeal of our company as an employer both in Germany and abroad and has already convinced many parents – and children.” Since the offer of subsidised childcare places is aimed at all parents working in the company’s headquarters in Kassel, KiWi also contributes to reaching diversity goals. “We are of course improving equal job opportunities for men and women through the offer of childcare. In addition, the concept of company childcare also convinces international experts to come to Kassel and work for Wintershall Dea,” Angstmann adds.

The company kindergarten KiWi was certified in 2019 by the non-profit foundation “Haus der kleinen Forscher” (Little Scientists’ House) as an institution that promotes early childhood education in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), with the aim of making girls and boys strong for the future and inspiring enjoyment in learning and discovering new things. Janine May, head of the day care centre sponsor Impuls Soziales Management, explains: “The children are already introduced through play at a very young age to topics such as health, nature and sustainability. Through this stimulus we enable them to already act early on in a responsible and sustainable manner.” The sponsor of the 27 company and 13 public day care centres across Germany has already been supporting companies for 25 years to allow their employees to reconcile family and working life.

On 25 August, Mario Mehren was there to congratulate the KiWi team on the anniversary and present a voucher for an interactive story time with storyteller Andrea Ortolano to the 50 or so girls and boys currently being looked after at the centre. Apart from the KiWi, Wintershall Dea has been providing the WiKi childcare at the technology park Marbachshöhe to our colleagues with families. The Hamburg headquarters provide day care service in the close-by City Nord.