In this interview with Katie Rose, Annika Egloff-Schoenen reflects on the changing representation of women in the trades.
Annika Egloff-Schoenen is Editor-in-Chief of BusSysteme Magazine and CEO of Fachverlag Dr. H. Arnold GmbH, a family-run publishing company for trade magazines in the electrical and mobility sectors. She is also a founding member of Women in KNX.
KNXtoday: Tell us the story of your family’s company Fachverlag Dr. Helmut Arnold GmbH and your role within it.
AE-S: My great-grandfather founded our publishing company as a newspaper and printing house in 1911. In the 1950s my grandfather launched two magazines which still exist today: ElektroWirtschaft addressing the electrical wholesalers and Nahverkehrs-praxis addressing public transport companies and authorities within the mobility sector. My mum, Gudrun Arnold-Schoenen, took over the company in 1990. My job when I first joined was to take care of the digital side of the business, and now I am Joint CEO with my mum. We bought the magazine BusSysteme in 2021 to expand the business, and since then, we’ve caught the KNX bug. Despite its complexity, I am fascinated by this standard and am learning something about it every day.
KNXtoday: Since its founding in 1911, Fachverlag Dr. Helmut Arnold GmbH has witnessed vast changes in the industry – how do you feel representations of women have changed?
AE-S: What I think is funny, whilst also being a little scary, is looking back at our magazine ads from the 60s and 70s. In those days the manufacturers of household appliances ran ads showing wives how to simplify their lives with slogans such as ‘If Dad had to wash, he’d buy a Miele washing machine’. That feels quite odd today.
KNXtoday: Working as a mother-daughter team with Gudrun Arnold-Schoenen, what shared and contrasting experiences do you have as women working in the trades?
AE-S: My mother started her career when things were still quite different, for example, at many conferences, she was the only woman present amongst men in dark suits. So she was an influential role model for me. Things have changed over the years, so it’s not surprising that as women from different generations, we sometimes have different points of view.
KNXtoday: Your grandfather handed over leadership of the family company to your mother – what role do you feel men can play in supporting women’s leadership?
AE-S: Men can play a vital role in the empowerment of women, especially in an industry such as ours. They can help reduce prejudices and make women visible.
KNXtoday: What role did you play in launching Women in KNX and how do you hope it will support women?
AE-S: After an initial chat with the Founder of Women in KNX, Katja Schuster, we met in Frankfurt to develop ideas. Following the successful launch event at the Light + Building 2024 show, we are now planning an event at the belektro trade fair in Berlin this November. We aim to connect and help women support each other in a male-dominated industry, and I’d also like to build a mentorship programme to assist young women.
KNXtoday: How do you aim to increase positive representation and encourage more women to consider a career in the trades and KNX?
Today, in addition to the Women in KNX initiative, we aim to make women visible in our magazines and events. Women tend to have less self-esteem than men, so I want to encourage them to be confident enough to take centre stage, not as a token woman, but as themselves.
KNXtoday: How can people connect with you?
AE-S: Through LinkedIn and www.bussysteme.de
Katie Rose is the Assistant Editor at KNXtoday magazine.
