“We live diversity!“ Pride Tour 2019

USPA NEWS - Wilfried Porth, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG responsible for Human Resources and Director of Labor Relations & Mercedes-Benz Vans: “Together with our employees, we want to send strong messages for tolerance, diversity and a culture of appreciation and respect. A culture in which origin, gender, religion, age or sexual orientation don´t matter."

Supporting the slogan "We live diversity!" Daimler will be participating in 13 Pride Parades and events all over the world. The tour kicks off on June 2nd in Dallas before moving on to Tel Aviv (June 3rd), Rome (June 8th), Detroit (June 9th), Portland (June 15th) and London (July 6th). The next stops are the Christopher Street Day parades in Cologne (July 7th), Berlin, Stuttgart (both on July 27th) and Bremen (August 31st), as well as events in Charlotte (August 18th), Johannesburg (October 26th) and last but not least Buenos Aires (November 2nd). Around the world, around 1800 employees will ride along on Mercedes-Benz Trucks and Buses which have been specially designed for the Pride parades. Furthermore, all employees are invited to accompany the parades.

Wilfried Porth, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG responsible for Human Resources and Director of Labor Relations & Mercedes-Benz Vans: “Together with our employees, we want to send strong messages for tolerance, diversity and a culture of appreciation and respect. A culture in which origin, gender, religion, age or sexual orientation don´t matter. Diversity is the driving force behind our ideas, our change and our culture of innovation. Diversity increases our potential and our creativity. As a company, it makes us more successful and creates clear competitive advantages.“ Participation in the Christopher Street Day parades in Germany and the worldwide Pride Parades was developed together with company, employee representatives and employee networks. Daimler AG committed itself many years ago to ensure diversity within the workforce.

Diversity management has been an important part of the business strategy since 2005. In personnel and all development processes, Daimler places a particular focus on encouraging various dimensions of diversity. In 2014, diversity management at Daimler was awarded the Max Spohr Prize by the Völklinger Kreis Association of Gay Manager. In 2018, the company joined the initiative of the United Nations Global Compact, which campaigns for the rights of lesbians, homosexuals, bisexuals, transsexuals and intersex people (LGBTI +).

At various locations, the tour will be supported by Daimler employee networks. For example, by GL@D (Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transgender+ at Daimler) in Germany, Italy and Israel; by Equal (employee network at Daimler Trucks North America) in Portland, Charlotte and Detroit and by Spectrum (employee network at Mercedes-Benz Financial Services USA) in Dallas and Detroit.

GL@D is one of more than 20 employee networks in the group and has 220 members. Since 2009, the network has set itself the goal to nurture a tolerant business culture and is first contact to LGBT+ topics at work. Members regularly exchange ideas and take part in events, such as the German Diversity Day or the Sticks & Stones career fair. The employee network Equal was established in October 2014 and connects employees at Daimler Trucks North America in Portland. Spectrum was founded in 2016 within Mercedes-Benz Financial Services USA.

Tobias Dettinger, representative of the GL@D network on the Pride Tour: “It's great to see our involvement expand and we stand up for values such as diversity, tolerance and openness on five continents around the world. We are making a difference with the Daimler Pride Tour and setting in motion an important dialogue - especially in countries that just started. We are committed to this as an internationally growing network. We look forward to showing the flags together with our colleagues."