To mark the 9th German Diversity Day, Mabanaft CEO Jonathan Perkins signed the Diversity Charter today. “Signing the Charter is a matter close to my heart. I am firmly convinced that, as a company, we benefit from the diversity of our colleagues – both personally and professionally,” explains Perkins.
By signing the Charter, Mabanaft – like almost 4,000 other companies in Germany – is taking a stand against discrimination and exclusion of people on the grounds of gender, gender identity, nationality, ethnic origin, religion, belief, disability, age and sexual orientation.
Thomas Clever, Head of Human Resources, is also convinced that diversity in the workplace creates added value: “Diversity has a positive effect on the working atmosphere. Incorporating different perspectives, personalities and cultural experiences strengthens mutual understanding and cooperation. Diverse teams are more creative and innovative. This has been shown to lead to better results.”
A key focus of diversity management at Mabanaft is on the dimensions of gender and social background. Through targeted measures, Mabanaft aims, for example, to strengthen the role of women within the company and to improve the conditions under which female colleagues can fully develop their talents. This ranges from issues such as recruitment and work-life balance to training and mentoring programmes.
However, Mabanaft does not merely promote diversity within the company. “For us, diversity is a task for society as a whole. People are often disadvantaged in terms of access to education because of their social background. We want to change this and help to create equal opportunities in the labour market,” says Clever. That is why the company supports the “Joblinge” initiative and the “Hamburg Scholarship” in Hamburg. Both programmes are committed to improving educational opportunities for young people who are starting their vocational training, work or studies under challenging circumstances.
About the Diversity Charter
The Diversity Charter was founded in 2006 as an employer initiative dedicated to promoting recognition, appreciation and respect in the workplace. In 2010, the non-profit association Charta der Vielfalt e.V. was founded to act as the organisation behind the initiative; it has been under the patronage of Dr Angela Merkel since 2011. The association aims to promote the integration of diversity in the workplace throughout Germany. Around 4,000 companies and institutions, employing more than 13 million people, have already signed the Charter.
www.charta-der-vielfalt.de
About the Mabanaft Group
Mabanaft GmbH & Co. KG is a leading independent and integrated energy company that offers its customers innovative energy solutions in the transport, heating and industrial sectors. In addition, the company is active in the trading of petroleum products, natural gas liquids, chemicals, biofuels and bio-fuels.
www.mabanaft.com
