Valuing and promoting employees

The City of Oldenburg and the University of Oldenburg signed the "Diversity Charter" on the nationwide Diversity Day. Together with BTC AG, three large employers with a total of over 6,000 employees now stand for the goals of the charter.

Lord Mayor Prof. Dr Gerd Schwandner signed the charter on behalf of the city administration and Prof. Dr Gunilla Budde, Vice President for Studies and Teaching, on behalf of the university. The signing was accompanied by Dirk Thole, Commercial Director of BTC AG and long-standing Charter member.

With the Diversity Charter, companies and public organisations commit to actively valuing and promoting the diversity of their workforce, regardless of gender, age, nationality, ethnic origin, religion or ideology, disability, sexual orientation and identity. "This has been a matter of course for the city administration's HR management for years. We already employ 57 per cent women, 15 per cent apprentices with a migration background and almost 8 per cent colleagues with severe disabilities," says Lord Mayor Schwandner. Inge von Danckelman, Head of Human Resources at the city, adds: "This diversity enriches our day-to-day work both internally and externally and has therefore become an invaluable asset. That's why we have been looking for junior staff and qualified personnel who contribute to diversity for a long time. But of course we also want to keep improving, for example by increasing the proportion of women in management positions."

"Internationality, diversity and inclusion - for Carl von Ossietzky University, this is part of everyday life. Whether in research, teaching or administration, diversity and a culture of togetherness are inseparable for the university. We are signing the charter out of conviction and with the will to actively help shape it," explains Vice President Budde and welcomes the alliance.

Dirk Thole from BTC AG adds: "We are proud of our diverse employees. By exchanging ideas with the city and the university, we can benefit from each other's experience."

Susanne Jungkunz, Head of the Inclusion Centre and host of the "Inclusion on site" project plenary could not have imagined a better start: "Our conference focuses on participation in work and employment for all those who are currently excluded. The signing of the charter by the city and university is therefore a wonderful welcome for our guests."

The Diversity Charter is a corporate initiative to promote diversity in companies and institutions. Federal Chancellor Dr Angela Merkel is its patron. The charter was launched by Daimler, BP Europa SE (formerly Deutsche BP), German Bank and Deutsche Telekom in 2006.

The aim of this initiative is to promote the recognition, appreciation and inclusion of diversity in corporate culture in Germany. Organisations should create a working environment in which prejudices are counteracted and all employees experience recognition and appreciation. More than 1,750 companies and public organisations have already signed the Diversity Charter.