Diversity in German Corporate Culture (2nd Quarter 2021)
Diversity – this buzzword is causing quite a stir in all areas of life, from politics to commercial breaks or on the upper arm of the German soccer team’s goalkeeper, Manuel Neuer, during the European Championship. Due to its importance, this topic was the focus of the special questions in the Randstad-ifo Personnel Manager Survey in the second quarter of 2021.
Diversity stands for multiplicity and variety: diversity management is now a standard aspect of human resources. It accepts and cultivates variety among employees in order to turn appreciation into positive added value for the company. Diversity thus affects a broad range of areas and cannot be implemented only through “gendering” or “quotas.” In addition to gender identity, it includes age, ethnic origin, physical and mental abilities, religion and beliefs, sexual orientation, and social background.
Focus on Diversity
Especially among larger companies, diversity in corporate culture has become an increasingly important topic in recent years. This is having a particularly positive impact in the areas of team building as well as innovation and creativity. For smaller companies, the focus on diversity has seen little change, or in some cases has even lost traction. There is also still room for improvement in the area of gender-neutral language: while “gendering” is common in external communication, it is less frequently practiced within company walls.
Measurability of Diversity
Because diversity comes in many different forms, human resources departments can record it only to a certain extent. According to German data protection laws, only aspects such as employees’ age, gender, religion, and nationality may be ascertained. This makes it all the more difficult to measure diversity, which is why many personnel managers use estimates or self-reporting by employees to determine, say, the percentage of employees with a foreign cultural background.
A look at the measurable aspects of diversity shows that the age distribution of the workforce in the companies surveyed corresponds to the distribution according to the employed population in all economic sectors and size classes. The gender composition reveals manufacturing to be a thoroughly male domain. In all other economic sectors and size classes considered in the survey, the distribution is roughly 40 percent women and 60 percent men, with a very small proportion of people in the Other category.
With regard to different working arrangements, it can be seen that four times as many women as men work part-time. On average, 17 percent of Germany’s total workforce is employed on a part-time basis. The concepts of part-time management or shared responsibilities offer a way to improve work-life balance. This can make a position with management responsibility more attractive, especially for women. Overall, part-time management is roughly balanced between the sexes. In manufacturing and in trade, on the other hand, women working part-time are underrepresented in management positions.
Further Assessments of Diversity
Cultural or social aspects are harder to measure. According to German companies, diversity in the workforce is primarily a question of internationality or cultural background. The companies surveyed also perceive a certain difference or increased diversity with regard to the level of education. A comparison of size classes shows that larger companies (250 employees or more) in particular tend to have a more diverse workforce.
Difficulties in measuring diversity also arise in the area of physical or mental impairment, because these do not have to be reported to employers. Besides that, however, the inclusion of people with physical or mental disabilities in the world of work is also a delicate topic. Only about half of the companies surveyed are able to provide the full number of positions for severely disabled persons that the law requires. The working environment, on the other hand, is (at least partially) accessible in 64 percent of the companies surveyed. As to their company’s web presence, 44 percent of personnel managers reported that it is designed to be accessible. Only 8 percent are planning accessibility revisions to their web presence.
Conclusion
The results show that diversity and its management have to a certain extent already become part of corporate culture, but are proving difficult to handle in some cases. Diversity literally encompasses a diverse range of aspects, and these have to be considered in a nuanced way. Moreover, that is precisely what makes measuring them so challenging. The effects are also usually difficult to pinpoint. Diversity isn’t a switch to be turned on and off, but a potential that calls for a certain basic level of trust. This makes it all the more important to address diversity within a company and to create an awareness of the effect that a diverse corporate culture has on an organization and the benefits that can be reaped from it. Diversity helps us question our approach to dealing with diverse people, with the aim of making sure no one is disadvantaged in the world of work.