May was Diversity Month with many interesting presentations and exciting insights into our company's diversity activities. Such an important topic also deserves attention beyond Diversity Month and beyond national borders. We therefore took a look at Austria to find out how diversity is practised there and how important the topic is within the Group.
REWE Group in Austria was the first national company to create a position for DisAbility Management in 2015. This developed more and more in the direction of diversity and inclusion, so that today it encompasses all levels of diversity. Sandra Edelmann is based in the Sustainability department and is responsible for the various facets of diversity at REWE Group Austria. We wanted to know what she prioritises in her work and how diversity is lived there.
one: What are the tasks of a diversity manager at BILLA and what topics do you deal with?
Sandra Edelmann: The topics I deal with are very diverse, as there are different levels of diversity - different genders, sexual identity, age, culture, religion, language or disabilities. To reduce everything to a common denominator: It's all about how we deal positively with the diversity of the people around us - be it our employees, our customers or our suppliers. In each case, I ask: what social norm do we assume and what is the colourful thing that deviates from the norm and broadens our perspectives?
one: What topic are you currently working on the most and can you give examples of projects you are currently working on?
Sandra Edelmann: One topic that I am currently working on intensively is women in leadership. The general problem is that although there are a lot of women working in the stores, there are fewer and fewer of them in management positions. That's why I worked with the HR department to analyse the situation and conduct interviews with senior managers in order to derive measures to increase the proportion of female managers.
one: And what measures are these?
Sandra Edelmann: In Fe:male culture checks, we use workshops and discussions with senior managers to examine the status of equal opportunities for women in the company. For example, if a new managerial position is filled by a man, we discuss with the manager whether there is no suitable female candidate. This is another advantage of diversity management: it enables a whole new level of transparency and openness.
one: In 2015, REWE Group was the first national company in Austria to create a position for DisAbility Management. What is the idea behind this and what are the objectives?
Sandra Edelmann: The original idea went back to inclusion. BILLA wanted to strengthen the social participation of people with disabilities and therefore created the position of DisAbility Manager. However, as diversity has many more facets, the content was expanded. Diversity flows into everything, and I try to bring it all together in my position and give my colleagues the right impetus so that they can integrate diversity into their everyday lives. The aim is to promote diversity and emphasise it where it is not yet visible. There are various reasons why this is important: on the one hand, it is about our social responsibility as one of the largest employers in Austria. On the other hand, it is also about our attractiveness as an employer for (future) employees: The aim is to be as diverse as possible in the competition for skilled labour. This is an important criterion when choosing an employer, especially for young applicants. In addition, we can only remain innovative for our customers in the long term if we understand and include all differences.
one: You mentioned inclusion. What is BILLA doing to give people with disabilities the chance to participate?
Sandra Edelmann: As part of our disability strategy, we offer many things to make this possible. For example, we offer integrative training programmes for people with disabilities that last longer than the usual training period. In total, around 800 people with disabilities work at REWE Group in Austria. We also cooperate with various social organisations, for example with the organisation Specialisterne. A few years ago, we were able to employ autistic colleagues at our headquarters in Wiener Neudorf through this organisation. For our customers with disabilities, we offer shopping in BILLA stores that is as barrier-free as possible. In some stores, we have set up the "quiet hour", where there is no in-store radio and it is quieter, creating a more pleasant shopping environment for people with autism and people who are sensitive to stimuli. Accessibility is also important when shopping online so that people with visual impairments can shop with us. In general, it's always about thinking about accessibility in every area.
The BIPA make-up stand
one: June was Pride Month in Austria and therefore the month of Pride parades. What are you doing to make sexual diversity visible and support the LGBTIQ+ community?
Sandra Edelmann: We sponsored the "Vienna Pride" rainbow parade in Vienna. There was also a BIPA make-up stand for queer people and everyone demonstrating together for the legal rights of the LGBTIQ+ community. We also organise a Human Library in the store: people from the queer community chat with customers about their lives in one of our stores. The aim is to create points of contact.
