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The allegations made are inaccurate and demonstrate a lack of legal and technical understanding. The allegation that various services are ‘unavailable’ on Telekom's network is false. Deutsche Telekom is not violating net neutrality. Nor does it slow down network traffic. We are sure that the Federal Network Agency will also recognise this and are looking forward to a review. The small number of unchecked allegations collected by the consumer advice centre over the months speaks for itself in view of the millions of customers.

In addition to the published proportions of women in the Annual Report, CR Report and HR Factbook, the following table shows the proportion of women in upper and middle management separately. Both figures are approaching the 30% target, with a combined share of women of 27.9% (see above-mentioned reports). All other shares are already above our set target for year end 2025 which is 30%.

In an effort to live up to our responsibility to society as a Group, we must embed sustainability in all areas, functions and processes. This is a paradigma of Deutsche Telekom's sustainability strategy: Sustainability is a responsibility for everyone in the Group!

However, special knowledge and skills are required to enable our employees to implement this strategy on a day-to-day basis.

Deutsche Telekom has therefore restructured and significantly expanded its training program in this area. The "Deutsche Telekom Sustainability Campus" offers a broad curriculum of web-based training courses that identify the need for action and then explain the goals Deutsche Telekom has set itself and how it intends to achieve them in line with the Group's sustainability strategy.

"In future, employees will also have to be familiar with ecological and social aspects, need an ethical compass of values and the ability to act responsibly in line with the company's ESG criteria," says Melanie Kubin-Hardewig, Vice President Group Corporate Responsibility at Telekom.

The new training program offers the necessary support: Short, concise video content explains the importance and implementation of sustainability in an easy-to-understand and interactive way - always with close relevance to the core business.

The Campus starts with the basics and goes deep into the various facets of ecological and social sustainability as well as good corporate governance.

The fight against climate change (incl. energy efficiency), the transition to a circular economy (incl. waste & reduction awareness) and the challenges of the water crisis are the first ecological focus areas. In the field of social engagement, the initial offer includes training on digital civil courage and standing up for democracy in the digital space, as well as comprehensive training on diversity, equal treatment, and inclusion. In the field of corporate Governance, the initial focus is on human rights training.

The current training program is just the beginning. In the next steps, further topics and specific training courses for certain functions will be added. The campus was created in collaboration with AXA Climate School, a leading international provider of webinars on sustainability, among others.

The development of future-proof skills for our employees and the strengthening of an increasingly digital learning culture are top priorities for us. In the reporting year, employees in Germany and the European subsidiaries invested an average of 4.6 working days per employee in their continuing education. In 2023, we advanced our "welearn" (formerly known as “youlearn”) learning culture initiative, which had been established since 2019, aligning it more closely with the Group's strategic objectives. With the theme "Time to Focus on Tech & Digital Skills," welearn specifically targeted the acquisition of technical and digital proficiencies, yielding significant results: 52% of the 3.8 million learning hours invested by employees in Germany and European national companies were dedicated to technical and digital skill development.
Deutsche Telekom has solidified its digital learning framework, boasting a robust digital learning utilization rate of approximately 73%. Leveraging the intelligent "Percipio" learning platform, often likened to the "Netflix of learning," and integrating providers like "Coursera" with content from esteemed universities, over 164,000 employees access a diverse array of digital and contemporary learning resources.
Additionally, the employee-driven "Learning from Experts" (LEX) initiative, launched in 2018, has emerged as the company's largest peer-to-peer learning community, fostering informal learning channels. In 2023, more than 5,650 online sessions were conducted, facilitating the exchange of expertise among colleagues.

Inclusion thrives on partnership. Barriers in the work environment and in people´s minds can only be removed together. Following this thought, Telekom has updated its Actionplan of 2016. The new Actionplan 2.0 is aligned with the challenges of our current time. It helps to fill the framework of the new Group Inclusion Agreement with participation of all employees. 

After three very successful runs, the kick-off event of our next “Child and Career” mentoring program took place in October 2019. For a period of 21 months, this program provides for potential junior staff in expert and managerial functions from various business units of the Group in Germany to be mentored by an experienced manager. The mentees who will soon start parental leave, are in parental leave or are planning their re-entrance in the job gain new professional and methodical competences “in the tandem” and benefit from shared experiences with others in the program network. In the fourth “Child and Career” session, 26 tandem teams went to the start. The program is supplemented by web-based tutorials on focus topics and self-organized network meetings. In addition, supplementary coaching services such as parental coaching and professional support coaching will be provided, as required. This was very well appreciated by the last run. More than 80 percent of participating junior employees and almost 70 percent of the managers are female.

The next mentoring program will start in the 2nd half of 2022.

Our Start up! Trainee Program primarily targets graduates with an interest in Technology and IT who are willing to leverage their talent as innovator, technophile or revolutionary every single day. With the aim to reach talented candidates outside of Germany, the application process has been held in English since 2017. As a result, we have been able to maintain the share of international participants in 2022: 27 percent of trainees come from different countries around the globe. In the reporting period, a total of 38 BA/MA graduates embarked on the trainee program, 53 percent of whom were women.
During a period lasting around 18 months, trainees familiarize themselves with different areas of the company in Germany and abroad. They take on challenging project assignments in various business areas. The trainees are supported by experienced managers. The program is supplemented by innovative learning elements and events. In addition, our Start up! Trainees also pursue their own initiatives including social & sustainability projects within the context of the Magenta Friday (project day).

For the third year in a row, the Corona crisis has had a massive impact on the world of work. In addition, society faces other challenges: the outbreak of the Ukraine war in February 2022 has made the world more uncertain, and the energy crisis, supply shortages and inflation are felt by everyone in their daily lives. These changes affect all areas of life and move people to want to make the world a better place. Candidates not only want a secure job, but also a sense of purpose in their work, self-fulfillment, continuous development and a contribution to society and the environment.

That is why we have redefined our employer brand in order to attract talented people to Telekom in the face of the known shortage of skilled workers and to convince them to follow their future path with us. For us, there is no specific destination at the end of the journey, but it is a journey that enables talents to realize their ambitions and grow together with us. With a global network of experts, our employees are part of the ever-evolving digital transformation, driving sustainable change and their skills. We call it Growthtopia. The times we live in demand that we express our shared values and that we stand together in the struggle for fairness and equal treatment. With target group-specific messages, authentic communication and the hashtag #QuestionTodayCreateTomorrow, we show what change means to us and what opportunities talents can discover at Deutsche Telekom.

Diversity is an integral part of our corporate culture, this is why we are increasingly trying to attract talented women to our company with target-group-specific speeches. As part of our partnership with Femtec, a cooperation of large well-known companies, the Fraunhofer Institute and major German technical universities (TU) as well as the ETH Zurich, which have set themselves the goal of finding and promoting young female STEM talents, we are hosting the Innovation Lab this year. The project topic is to develop a technically innovative solution for green, sustainable mobile sites - which almost 20 international female Femtec women have chosen.

With the Femtec Alumnae network, a 6-week training programme took place in the areas of artificial intelligence, leadership and agile working. 60 female IT experts or managers with 2-6 years of professional experience participated in the virtual expert sessions. We are also involved with Global Digital Women, an international network of female shapers in the digital industry.

Our Start up! trainee program above all targets graduates with an interest in Technology and IT who are motivated to shape the world of tomorrow with an entrepreneurial spirit and open to new challenges. With the aim to reach talented candidates outside of Germany, the application process has been held in English since 2017. As a result, we have been able to increase the share of international participants in 2021: 41 percent of trainees come from different countries around the globe. In the reporting period, a total of 39 BA/MA graduates embarked on the trainee program, 49 percent of whom were women.
During a period lasting around 18 months, trainees familiarize themselves with different areas of the company in Germany and abroad. They take on challenging project assignments in various business areas. The trainees are supported by experienced managers. The program is supplemented by innovative training formats and events. In addition, our Start up! trainees also pursue their own initiatives including social and sustainability projects within the context of the Magenta Friday (project day).

Deutsche Telekom AG supports the United Nations Standards of Conduct for Business to tackle discrimination against lesbian, gay, bi, trans and intersex (LGBT+, + Plus sign stands for not excluding anyone ) people. “We are promoting an environment of mutual respect, tolerance and diversity. We stand up for human rights and promote openness and understanding in a digitalized and networked world. I am very pleased that we have adopted the UN's global LGBT+ Standards of Conduct for business,” said Birgit Klesper, Senior Vice President Corporate Responsibility.

Since 2000, Deutsche Telekom AG has been a member of the UN Global Compact, and is expressly committed to the United Nations Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights. “In joining 240 of the early supporters of the UN Global LGBT+ Standards for Business, Deutsche Telekom is sending a powerful signal to the ICT industry and beyond. As a responsible company, Deutsche Telekom is dedicated to respecting and protecting human rights including those of LGBT+ people.” said Fabrice Houdart, United Nations Human Rights Officer and co-author of the Standards. MagentaPride, the Group's LGBT+ employee network, is proud that Deutsche Telekom expressing its engagement to human rights by drawing the standards of conduct for business - tackling discrimination against lesbian, gay, bi, trans, & intersex people.

Deutsche Telekom AG supports the United Nations Standards of Conduct for Business to tackle discrimination against lesbian, gay, bi, trans and intersex (LGBT+, + Plus sign stands for not excluding anyone ) people. “We are promoting an environment of mutual respect, tolerance and diversity. We stand up for human rights and promote openness and understanding in a digitalized and networked world. I am very pleased that we have adopted the UN's global LGBT+ Standards of Conduct for business,” said Birgit Klesper, Senior Vice President Corporate Responsibility.

Since 2000, Deutsche Telekom AG has been a member of the UN Global Compact, and is expressly committed to the United Nations Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights. “In joining 240 of the early supporters of the UN Global LGBT+ Standards for Business, Deutsche Telekom is sending a powerful signal to the ICT industry and beyond. As a responsible company, Deutsche Telekom is dedicated to respecting and protecting human rights including those of LGBT+ people.” said Fabrice Houdart, United Nations Human Rights Officer and co-author of the Standards. MagentaPride, the Group's LGBT+ employee network, is proud that Deutsche Telekom expressing its engagement to human rights by drawing the standards of conduct for business - tackling discrimination against lesbian, gay, bi, trans, & intersex people.

Deutsche Telekom is committed to providing a safe environment for all its employees free from discrimination on any ground and from harassment at work including sexual harassment. We are committed to a zero-tolerance regarding any form of sexual harassment in the workplace. We treat all incidents seriously and promptly investigate all allegations of sexual harassment. Any person found to have sexually harassed another will face disciplinary action, up to and including dismissal from employment. All complaints of sexual harassment will be taken seriously and treated with respect and in confidence. No one will be victimized for making such a complaint. Furthermore, we offer a groupwide human rights training for all our employees. The topic sexual harassment is included in the training.

Deutsche Telekom is committed to providing a safe environment for all its employees free from

discrimination on any ground and from harassment at work including sexual harassment. We are committed to a zero-tolerance regarding any form of sexual harassment in the workplace. We treat all incidents seriously and promptly investigate all allegations of sexual harassment. Any person found to have sexually harassed another will face disciplinary action, up to and including dismissal from employment. All complaints of sexual harassment will be taken seriously and treated with respect and in confidence. No one will be victimized for making such a complaint. Furthermore, we offer a groupwide human rights training for all our employees. The topic sexual harassment is included in the training.

In a joint project Deutsche Telekom Stiftung and German Reading Foundation aim to awaken children´s interest in math and science and improve their language and reading skills by reading aloud to them. Appropriate reading materials (books, apps, e-books) are read aloud by volunteer readers to kids aged three to ten in kindergartens, primary schools and libraries. By late 2020, a total of around 3,300 volunteers engaged as volunteer readers in Germany and abroad– including 110 Deutsche Telekom employees (as of November 2020).

Top-level management plays a key role in the business success of a company. If managers at that level leave the company, their position must be filled in a timely manner, with a qualified candidate. Since 2017, we have a global systematic succession management process, which obligates around 1,700 managers in executive positions to be involved in succession planning. The process helps these managers to decide who could serve as their direct successor and who has the potential to take on their role in the mid-term. A digital platform helps executives with the nomination process.
In 2020, 4,400 potential candidates (DT internal and external, 25 percent of which were female professionals) were evaluated at special succession meetings. Successors get full transparency about the positions they are nominated to and their readiness to take on the role. This nomination and feedbackprocess is a valuable intrument to identify in a timely manner highly qualified successionb candidates in order to minimize the risk of any placement gaps. Furthermore Succession Management supports the internal mobility of executives within Deutsche Telekom.