Colleagues from all around the world celebrate Pride

Educational and fun events and activities

In many countries June is filled with Pride activities to create awareness on topics around the LGBTQ+ communities. This year, throughout June, Dr. Oetker’s Rainbow Team offered a range of activities for their colleagues around the company. So does Dr. Oetker: The Rainbow Team offered a range of activities for their colleagues around the company.

The Rainbow Community at Dr. Oetker

We truly believe in communities to strengthen our teams and learn and support each other. The international members of the Rainbow Community meet up for events, regular community meetings and to catch up on what is going on in their local areas. The Rainbow Community ensures that everyone, regardless of their sexual orientation and identity, feels welcome and included at Dr. Oetker. The community aims to increase visibility and drive inclusion, to connect, promote open-mindedness, be a central point of resource and support, and provide a safe space for its members. The Rainbow team offers a package of digital knowledge around Pride and the Rainbow Community.

LGBTQIA+ - speaker events foster awareness

Regular speaker events have become an integral part of our (internal) diversity and inclusion communication. Every year in June, we invite an international speaker who gives insights and eye-opening information and sharing experiences regarding LGBTQIA+ issues/topics. In June 2023 David E. Hull-Watters shared his insights how to avoid and be aware of micro-aggressions, how to move to conscious inclusion, what the organization can do to create an inclusive culture for LGBTQ+ staff, and, what allyship means.

This year we have been delighted to welcome the public speaker Jude Guaitamacchi, and to hear what they think about LGBTQ+ in workplaces, allyship, the importance of pronoun visibility. Again, many colleagues from around the world joined this virtual session and have learned more about gender diversity and its dimensions in depth. Jude has worked in schools and business around Europe to promote trans inclusion for almost ten years. They were highly commended at the European Diversity Awards 2023 and Rainbow Honours 2023 – and Jude has won Influencer of the Year 2024 at rainbowhonours.

"Gender diversity is about all of us looking beyond the identities society has constructed for us, and living our lives authentically”, Jude points out.

It is important to counteract the rising transphobia. Thus, education and training are crucial to sensitize people. – The numerous questions after the session showed how much our colleagues are keen on learning inclusive behavior and being an ally for others. The key takeaways, according to feedback from the participants, were to be more mindful of their language and actions.

LGBTQ+ Quiz

Colleagues were invited to test their knowledge on the history, respectful behavior, and (fun) facts all around Pride and LGBTQ+.

Baking and Creating Rainbows

Local activities like great baking competitions, where colleagues created wonderfully baked rainbow cakes and cupcakes, or made healthy, multi-colored fruit skewers, got colleagues sharing with their teams.

Creating Awareness Every Day

At Dr. Oetker, international, virtual meetings and calls are our daily business. To create a sense of belonging during these meetings and calls, our Dr. Oetker Content Factory team has created a wonderful Progress Pride Flag – cake. This image is used by so many colleagues around the world to color up their meetings and show their support for LGBTQ+.

Every month is pride month

The beginning of July may mark the end of Pride Month, but for us at Dr. Oetker, Pride Month is every month. Diversity and Inclusion is an important part of our Sustainability Charter. Our Rainbow Team will continue to help empower colleagues and create a sense of belonging throughout the year with activities as well as supporting allyship and awareness.