Today, on May 23, 2023, the German Diversity Day is being celebrated for the 11th time. Since 2013, employers in Germany have been using this day to draw special attention to the fact that diversity is essential in the workplace. Many companies and organizations will address the topic of diversity today with a variety of colorful activities.
Even though this important social concern must not be reduced to a single day a year, it is still important to stand with everyone who participates to show that supporting diversity in our workplaces can only be a win for employers and employees alike.
Ogletree Deakins stands for diversity in the workplace. We firmly believe that diversity is essential for new and valuable ideas to emerge and creative solutions to be developed within a team. We are proud to work in a diverse, heterogeneous team and firmly believe that our diversity also influences our work for and with our clients in a positive way.
The initiative for the German Diversity Day goes back to the association “Charta der Vielfalt e.V.” (Translation: Diversity Charta). Founded under the patronage of former German Chancellor Angela Merkel and continued by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, more than 4,500 companies and public institutions have since signed the “Diversity Charter”. In doing so, they express their firm opposition to any discrimination based on origin, gender, religion, ideology, disability, age or sexual identity. Human dignity is inviolable. With this article, the German Basic Law grants every human a very special legal position that many places around the world do not yet grant. Based on this fundamental state principle, the General Equal Treatment Act gives concrete form to the prohibition of discrimination in everyday life. These values, which even today should not be taken for granted, are absolutely indispensable for successful cooperation in the workplace. The Berlin office of Ogletree Deakins is one of the signatories of the “Diversity Charter”.
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