97
Raiffeisen Bank International | Sustainability Report 2017
GRI content index / Assurance statement Engaged citizen Fair partner Responsible banker Sustainability management Overview Foreword
Diversity 2020
RBI AG launched the “Diversity 2020” initiative in 2016. The goal is to
better promote and take advantage of diversity in the company through
professional diversity management, thereby making a positive contribution
to the corporate results. Organizational anchoring of the topic was taken
into account by nominating a diversity officer and establishing a diversity committee. Furthermore, in order to
include as many perspectives as possible, 20 diversity ambassadors were appointed from all executive areas.
These ambassadors cooperate with the diversity committee and are tasked with strengthening diversity in their
area as well as planning and implementing the measures.
In 2017, the Diversity Vision and Mission was finalized and published along with the relevant guidelines (see
page 94). One important factor that hinders diversity in companies and thus, among other things, hinders
attempts to increase the appointment of women to management positions, is unconscious bias. There have
already been “Sensitization Training Courses” in groups in which employees could participate voluntarily. We
are currently working on and online training course.
The first comprehensive package of measures for the “Empowerment of Women” was launched in 2016.
It aims to sustainably increase the proportion of women in higher qualified positions. We have set out
comprehensive communication measures to sensitize awareness of this topic and ensure the greatest possible
transparency for the initiative. For internal vacancies, the decision was made to include a waiting period in the
appointment process in order to have enough time to find qualified female applicants. In addition, qualified
female candidates are being actively approached by HR employees. Documents are “anonymized” for
interviews and hearings so that there is more objectivity in the selection process. Mentoring for women is seen
as an essential instrument for increasing the share of women in management and will therefore be continuously
expanded. An in-house training course on “Empowerment of Women” is also offered. The first of these courses
was completed in May 2017 by 12 “emerging leadership talents” and “leadership talents.” We also consider
it important to change the structural conditions within the company to encourage women to apply for
management positions. In two workshops, executives dealt extensively with the topic of part-time leadership
and the culture required for it. In 2017, RBI set an overall target quota of women on the Supervisory Board,
Management Board and in second level management at 35 percent by 2024.
The second diversity topic that we are currently
focusing on is the integration of people with
disabilities. For this reason, disability ambassadors
were appointed from all board areas. The aim of the
RBI AG project is to break down inhibitions, generate
awareness, increase social skills and employ more
qualified disabled employees. In addition to a status
survey, awareness training has been held for disability
ambassadors and the recruiting team. In February
2017, the “Zero Project Conference” dinner was
hosted by RBI AG during a three-day conference.
Almost 70 national and international guests
participated in the event to discuss different topics
relating to the employment of people with disabilities
or disabilities in the workplace.
Zero Project Conference Dinner, © RBI