Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

The Bundesbank is committed to diversity, equity and inclusion.

It is proven that mixed teams deliver the best results. They have the ability to think outside the box and question traditional structures, driving innovation with creativity and courage.

Our goal is for all employees to experience appreciation, respect and equal opportunity. Gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, health, age, religion, belief, ethnic origin or nationality and social or educational background do not matter. In its diversity concept, the Bundesbank stipulates that all employees share a common responsibility. It is important to show openness and mutual respect for all employees and to demonstrate cooperative acceptance to all ways of life. This commitment applies to all employees of the Bank at all levels.

Working together for greater diversity

The ‘Labour Relations, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion’ team in the Human Resources department ©Björn Hänssler

The “Labour relations, equal opportunities, diversity and inclusion” team in the Office for Human Resources Policy Issues works closely with the following units to promote diversity:

Equal opportunities officers

The Bundesbank’s equal opportunities officers promote and monitor the application of the Federal Act on Equal Treatment (Bundesgleichstellungsgesetz) and the General Act on Equal Treatment (Allgemeinen Gleichbehandlungsgesetz). Their aim is to protect employees from discrimination on account of their gender, especially in the case of discrimination against women.
Representative bodies for disabled employees

The Bundesbank’s representative bodies for disabled employees support the integration of disabled persons in the workplace. They represent their interests and offer them advice and assistance.
Demographics officer

The Bundesbank’s Executive Board has appointed a demographics officer. Their task is to develop and implement measures to address the challenges posed by demographics across the Bundesbank as a whole.

Our diversity employee resource groups (ERGs)

The Bundesbank supports and encourages the four diversity ERGs which have been established to date:

Vielfalt leben – Rainbow and Friends

© Anne Walkembach

From left: Daniel Büsch, Bernhard Vogel, Shana Vierheilig on the “Millionensofa” made of shredded banknotes.

The Bundesbank’s rainbow ERG stands for visibility, acceptance and equal opportunities for LGBTQIA+ employees. It strives to foster a working environment in which colleagues from the LGBTQIA+ community feel welcome, accepted and safe.
Vielfalt leben – Culture Club

The Culture Club promotes an open working environment in which all colleagues with a migration background feel represented and in which cultural diversity is viewed as an asset in the day-to-day life of our Bank.
Women at the Bundesbank

The “Women at the Bundesbank” ERG is aimed at all those who wish to network, get involved and exchange ideas on the topic of gender diversity.
Women in Leadership

The “Women in Leadership” ERG consists of female managers from grade A16 upwards and employees with a similar status. The aim of the network is to exchange views and provide mutual support on the topic of leadership and related current issues and challenges.

Our fields of action for fostering diversity

Our diversity initiatives at the Deutsche Bundesbank are based on the following fields of action, which are brought together under the umbrella term “Diversity of Thought”:

Gender and gender identity

We are committed to ensuring that gender identity has no impact on a respectful environment among colleagues, day-to-day interactions at work and the distribution of tasks or responsibilities, and we support a broad formulation of the concept of gender.
Sexual orientation

We wish to continue to foster a climate that promotes an open approach to sexual orientation in order to eliminate any pressure our employees may feel to explain themselves, and thus fully unleash their motivation, energy and commitment.
Health
We attach importance to a culture that creates sufficient trust for openness about a disability or illness. The focus should be on the different skillsets and potential of all employees. The inclusion of disabled workers has been a key issue for the Bundesbank for a long time

Further information

Inclusion at the Bundesbank Fair opportunities, shared success
Age and generation

We want to contribute to creating an appreciative, tolerant and motivating work environment for all age groups and to promoting the exchange of experience and knowledge between generations. The Bank has appointed a demographics officer for this important task.
Religion and belief

We place importance on ensuring that all employees treat each other with respect and appreciation in terms of their religious affiliation and beliefs.
Ethnic origin and nationality

We are committed to an open organisational culture in which there is a mutual understanding of differences and similarities. We explicitly welcome employees from different cultural backgrounds. Many employees with a migration background exchange ideas in the Bundesbank’s Culture Club ERG.
Social background

We can benefit from the experience and skills of staff with different social backgrounds and wish to prevent this from having any negative effects on equal opportunities in the workplace.
Educational background

We benefit from the cooperation and development of innovative solutions by employees with different educational backgrounds and thus from a variety of different ways of thinking and look forward to applications from people with different educational backgrounds.