{"id":5835,"date":"2022-12-01T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-12-01T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sw.fst.com\/magazine\/?p=5835"},"modified":"2022-12-06T10:12:27","modified_gmt":"2022-12-06T09:12:27","slug":"lets-talk-about-diversity-inclusion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sw.fst.com\/magazine\/en\/2022\/12\/lets-talk-about-diversity-inclusion\/","title":{"rendered":"Let\u2019s Talk about Diversity &amp; Inclusion"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The topic is complex and sensitive, but of the utmost importance. Because it\u2019s about people. About uniqueness and diversity, appreciation and dignity. And it involves the professional careers of individuals and the business success of the entire company. In a nutshell, it\u2019s about diversity and inclusion at Freudenberg Sealing Technologies (FST). Besides the abbreviation \u201cD&amp;I,\u201d the abbreviation \u201cDEI\u201d is also used, particularly at our U.S. sites. The \u201cE\u201d in the middle stands for \u201cEquity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Guiding Principles of Freudenberg clearly state that \u201cwe reject all forms of discrimination and personal disparagement. We show and demand understanding and respect in our dealings with one another. We ensure a culturally diverse working environment in which employees from a wide range of countries contribute their skills in teams to enhance our expertise and thus enrich our company culture at the same time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Such aspirations must be exemplified by managers and lived by employees. Day after day. \u201cD&amp;I\u201d has been part of Freudenberg\u2019s DNA for more than 170 years. Employees should be aware of this and take it to heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe want to reflect the diversity of each respective society in our organization. We take this very seriously and we commit to it explicitly in our \u2018Diversity Commitment Statement.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<cite>Claus M\u00f6hlenkamp &#8211; Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at FST<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But what does that mean exactly? No one may be discriminated against on the basis of gender, age, race and ethnic background, culture, religion, sexual orientation or physical or mental impairments. \u201cWe want to reflect the diversity of the surrounding societies in our organization. We take this very seriously and make a clear commitment to it in our Commitment Statement,\u201d says Claus M\u00f6hlenkamp, CEO of FST.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He then adds: \u201cThe diversity of our employees enriches our collaboration because it lets us look at things from different perspectives. When different perspectives come together, we become more innovative and agile. To be and remain the first choice among our customers, we want to have the best people working for us: with the most diverse life paths, backgrounds, interests, and preferences possible. We want them all to feel valued, respected and included.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">FST therefore creates the general conditions to give all employees the opportunity to contribute their individual experiences, talents and perspectives in the spirit of diversity and inclusion. For years, for example, bringing women into management positions had been an important aspect. Even though there is still a long way to go here, the fi rst steps have been taken. Cross-organizational communities have existed for some time, e. g., the \u201cTech Ladies,\u201d and a focus on D&amp;I has been included in management training for several years. In 2021, gender diversity objectives were set for the divisions at management level and regular reports on the implementation status were made at the quarterly business review meetings. This year, FST also established a \u201cD&amp;I Committee\u201d to give further momentum to the topic. Communication activities are also being stepped up, including a series of articles on the FST portal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-style-cnvs-block-bg-inverse has-white-color has-text-color has-background\" style=\"background-color:#398ccb\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\"><div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"69\" height=\"69\" src=\"https:\/\/sw.fst.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/fst-sw-2023_1-1200sq_0003_Vektor-Smartobjekt.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5634\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2 id=\"fst-diversity-inclusion-commitment-statement\" class=\"has-white-color has-text-color wp-block-heading\">FST Diversity &amp; Inclusion Commitment Statement<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-white-color has-text-color wp-block-paragraph\">Diversity and Inclusion is a central part of our corporate culture. Our commitment to diversity and inclusion is deeply rooted in our Freudenberg Guiding Principles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-white-color has-text-color wp-block-paragraph\">We are convinced that an organization which reflects the diversity of our societies is essential to our business success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-white-color has-text-color wp-block-paragraph\">We recognize that differences \u2013 be it in gender, racial and ethnic background, age, nationality, sexual orientation, physical ability, thinking style and social background \u2013 bring richness to the way we collaborate, manage our business and subsequently to the results we deliver to our customers and stakeholders. Such plurality helps us to look at things from several perspectives and \u2013 while working together in an inclusive, open and constructive environment \u2013 to become more innovative and successful as a result.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-white-color has-text-color wp-block-paragraph\">Our goal is to attract, develop and retain the best and brightest from all walks of life and backgrounds. This requires an organization to have a culture of inclusion where all individuals feel valued, respected and heard, where they are treated fairly, provided work-life balance and an opportunity to excel in their chosen careers.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">All articles on \u201cD&amp;I\u201d are available on the FST portal: <a href=\"https:\/\/on.fst.com\/3sAjqiB\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">https:\/\/on.fst.com\/3sAjqiB<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"pld-like-dislike-wrap pld-template-1\">\r\n    <div class=\"pld-like-wrap  pld-common-wrap\">\r\n    <a href=\"javascript:void(0)\" class=\"pld-like-trigger pld-like-dislike-trigger  \" title=\"\" data-post-id=\"5835\" data-trigger-type=\"like\" data-restriction=\"ip\" data-already-liked=\"0\">\r\n                        <i class=\"fas fa-thumbs-up\"><\/i>\r\n                <\/a>\r\n    <span class=\"pld-like-count-wrap pld-count-wrap\">    <\/span>\r\n<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The topic is complex and sensitive, but of the utmost importance. Because it\u2019s about people. About uniqueness and diversity, appreciation and dignity. And it involves the professional careers of individuals&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":5787,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[419,102],"tags":[403],"powerkit_post_featured":[],"class_list":["post-5835","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-diversity-inclusion-en","category-global-en","tag-edition-01_2023-en"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sw.fst.com\/magazine\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5835","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sw.fst.com\/magazine\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sw.fst.com\/magazine\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sw.fst.com\/magazine\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sw.fst.com\/magazine\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5835"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sw.fst.com\/magazine\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5835\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6108,"href":"https:\/\/sw.fst.com\/magazine\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5835\/revisions\/6108"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sw.fst.com\/magazine\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5787"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sw.fst.com\/magazine\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5835"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sw.fst.com\/magazine\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5835"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sw.fst.com\/magazine\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5835"},{"taxonomy":"powerkit_post_featured","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sw.fst.com\/magazine\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/powerkit_post_featured?post=5835"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}