OREANDA-NEWS. June 11, 2014. Deutsche Post DHL will join the rest of Germany on June 3rd in celebration of Diversity Day, a nationwide event now in its second year. As part of this year’s day-long event titled “Vielfalt unternehmen” (Do Diversity), Deutsche Post DHL will feature diversity-related activities at its Post Tower headquarters in Bonn as well as other locations around the world. Initiated in 2013 by the organization Charta der Vielfalt e.V., Diversity Day aims to raise the awareness for diversity issues and integrate it into the German business community.

Diversity is already an everyday reality at the world’s leading mail and logistics services company: People from around 50 nations are working in the Post Tower in Bonn. And with approximately 480,000 employees around the world, the Deutsche Post DHL workforce is made up of people of all ages, nationalities, religious backgrounds, and sexual orientations. Its workforce also includes people with disabilities.

Greatest strengths lies in the diversity of people

“As a global company, one of our greatest strengths lies in the diversity of our people. Each and every one of our employees brings something to  their experience, their talents. And this gives us a?the table  decisive competitive edge,” says Angela Titzrath, Board Member for Personnel at Deutsche Post DHL. “The only way to maintain our edge as an innovative service provider and attractive employer is to offer a corporate culture founded on mutual respect and the spirit of trust and cooperation. This is the true foundation of business success.”

Diversity Day at the Group headquarters in Bonn will feature an exhibit as well as information stands and activities focused on “Living Diversity”. Other company locations around the world, including England, France, Hungary and the Czech Republic, will also take part in the diversity-awareness campaign and conduct similar activities during Germany’s second Diversity Day. An exhibition on diversity is being held in India, for example, and in Singapore and Japan, employees are invited to an international lunch to discuss the topic of diversity at Deutsche Post DHL.

Corporate Diversity & Inclusion Statement

Diversity management at Deutsche Post DHL focuses on a number of key action areas, which include promoting tolerance and acceptance of all sexual orientations, women in executive positions, work-life balance and equal employment opportunities for people with disabilities. In 2013, Deutsche Post DHL employed 14,170 employees with disabilities – representing an employment rate that was well above the national average in Germany’s private sector. Rainbownet, Deutsche Post DHL’s network for lesbian, gay, bi- and transsexual employees, is continuously growing: To further promote a corporate culture of openness, seminars for Deutsche Post DHL’s apprentices have been conducted throughout Germany in order to raise the young people’s awareness for homo- and transphobia. Diversity management’s overarching goal is to create HR processes and structures that not only reinforce the diversity of the Group’s workforce, but create a culture where this diversity is embraced as an asset, motivating employees to unlock this potential for the benefit of the company.

Managers and executives play a key role in putting the Group’s diversity management into practice on a daily basis. For this reason, in 2013 Deutsche Post DHL developed a Diversity Awareness Training component to be integrated into existing leadership development programs. A newly established Diversity Council is charged with developing measures to ensure the successful implementation of the Group’s diversity strategy. And in a further step to strengthen the awareness for diversity-related issues within the Group, in 2013 Deutsche Post DHL’s Board of Management adopted its Corporate Diversity & Inclusion Statement.