Diversity

Diversity can be described as inclusion of many different people, regardless of their age, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, religious affiliation, physical and mental disabilities, social background and more. But for us at TÜV SÜD, diversity also means that everyone can develop individually, that we understand each other, and that we benefit from different perspectives. We believe that diversity results from individual knowledge, personalities and characteristics, formed by the different ways employees experience the world.

It is these various perspectives that bring different, innovative ideas to the table and help break new ground in developing our services further.

Diversity management starts with commitment from the top. It must be made an integral part of our company values and culture. There must also be a focus on creating HR structures and processes – including recruiting, personal development and employment conditions – that help us to further eliminate bias from our decision-making.

To show appreciation and support of this diversity, TÜV SÜD has signed the Diversity Charter, joining Germany's largest corporate initiative for promoting diversity.

By signing the Diversity Charter, TÜV SÜD has joined a group of more than 3,700 companies in Germany that have committed to making diversity a core constituent of their corporate culture. The terms of the charter are aimed at creating a workplace environment that is free from prejudice. All employees are to be respected regardless of their gender, nationality, ethnic background, faith, beliefs, disabilities, age, sexual orientation or identity.

Managing unconscious bias is crucial for a diverse company. Are we always able to approach others in an open-minded and unbiased way? What can we do to counteract stereotypes in decision-making processes?

Asking these questions and addressing unconscious bias is an important factor in raising awareness and ultimately enabling change, more than enough reason to focus on unconscious bias with a series of internal key notes, trainings and instructional videos. If you want to learn more, watch the video series:

In order to gain more balance in our perspectives, TÜV SÜD aims to significantly increase the proportion of women in professional and managerial roles. To that end, we have started an initiative for driving the topic of gender balance.

• TÜV SÜD will provide men and women with equal opportunities for development.
• By deciding to implement the gender balance corporate initiative, TÜV SÜD is taking deliberate steps to encourage women to take up professional and leadership roles and join strategic HR development programmes.
• To drive sustainable change, the actions we take in this respect will address organisational and structural issues as well as individual and cultural levels.
• To promote and enhance gender balance, TÜV SÜD is addressing the entire employee life cycle and will further expand its life-balance programme for a better work-life balance.

TÜV SÜD stands for an open and diverse corporate culture. We support the LGBTIQ community in the company to help EVERYONE feel accepted and valued at all times and thus allow them to develop their full potential.

Recent activities include the creation of an internal video series called “Out at Office” with the purpose of providing information and exchange about the potential of openness for LGBTIQ individuals at their place of work.

During pride month, not only was the pride flag a visual sign of TÜV SÜD’s support of the LGBTIQ community, but employees were also able to show digital support via customised pride screens for their social media and video conference backgrounds.

The Women’s Network was started by a group of women working at TÜV SÜD who were passionate about empowering their fellow female colleagues. The grassroots initiative forms connections between teammates across divisions and offices and promotes the advancement of female TÜV SÜD employees with:

• The provision of in-house and external mentoring and coaching
• The establishment of opportunities for knowledge sharing, both virtually and in real life
• Career-focussed social networking
• An outreach programme with academic and professional institutions
• A connection with like-minded external women’s networks

The Woman’s Network now has over 600 members worldwide. It and its worthy cause are constantly evolving, gaining more momentum every day.

In July 2019, an employee network was founded at TÜV SÜD for general exchange and planning activities related to the LGBTIQ community: prOUT.

The network was founded by – and is now controlled by – employees. TÜV SÜD actively supports the network in creating more awareness within the company, among other things. The network sparked the idea to dive deeper into the topic of openness at work, resulting in the creation of a video series about being “out in the office”.