Diversity inspires
Bank Austria is committed to a working environment in which everyone is respected on the basis of their performance and ability – regardless of their nationality, skin colour, sexual orientation, gender identity, religious affiliation, or personal characteristics.
Diversity inspires and creates the perfect environment for innovation due to the various talents, experiences, and perspectives that come together. This leads to a melting pot that promotes cosmopolitan thinking and respectful and tolerant interaction with one another. This is why we foster a corporate culture of inclusion – which we see as the key to sustainable success. As part of UniCredit Group, we at Bank Austria have been working together for many years to establish an environment in which all employees can express their diverse ideas, talents, and experiences and contribute their own unique value to our company.
One debit card (BankCard) for all
We believe that diversity inspires and creates the right environment for innovation. Nothing enriches a company more than people who can be who they want to be. We proudly carry this thought outward not only for Pride Month, but all year round. For all those who also want to show attitude, our Bank Austria debit card is also available in the Pride design.
UniCorns Bank Austria advocates for a better understanding of LGBTQIA+ issues.
UniCorns Bank Austria is a network of LGBTQIA+ colleagues and allies that aims to create a corporate culture in which all employees are valued regardless of their sexual orientation and gender identity. People can only fully realise their abilities and potential in an open working environment. This is not only good for the LGBTQIA+ colleagues, but for our entire bank.
The main concerns of UniCorns Bank Austria
Even today, many LGBTQIA+ people do not dare to come out at work due to fear of discrimination. Therefore, the UniCorns decided to take action in order to create a space for these concerns and advocate for greater integration and equal treatment as an interest group.
- Create visibility for LGBTQIA+ issues
- Educate and inform people about LGBTQIA+ issues
- Encourage and support our LGBTQIA+ colleagues
- Serve as a point of contact for our LGBTQIA+ colleagues and managers
- Counteract discrimination against people
- Advise management in all LGBTQIA+ issues
Inspired by this enthusiasm, we established another employee resource group this year:
- UniCredit Bank Austria LGBTQIA+ Network – the UniCorns
- UniCredit Cultural Diversity Network
The goal of these employee resource groups is to identify new inclusion allies who help us to see and hear the faces and voices of the people who make up the diversity of our bank. Every person is unique, and this diversity and people’s individual differences must gain acceptance. Our goal is to understand one another and go beyond basic tolerance in order to embrace and acknowledge the rich facets of diversity. Bank Austria’s commitment to these values was also demonstrated by a series of 11 different events on the topics of “Gender”, “Disability”, “LGBTQIA+”, “Resilience”, “Race & Ethnicity”, “Practising Allyship”, and many more. This event series was offered to our employees for voluntary participation and training as part of the so-called Diversity & Inclusion Week 2020.
We are committed to maximising diversity by supporting international collaboration and teamwork across borders and functions.
In our journey to promote diversity and inclusion, we aim to recruit and hire candidates with different qualifications, support the careers of our colleagues, retain and develop them, strengthen our performance-oriented compensation systems, and foster an inclusive overall culture.
More diversity equals more flexibility
Diverse companies can adapt to changing conditions more easily and quickly. Organisations that work with a diverse range of customers and employees every day are accustomed to dealing with cultures and needs that are continuously changing.
Bank Austria employs people of more than 40 different nationalities between the ages of 15 and 65 and the most people with disabilities by comparison – who now make up 3 per cent of the staff within the Group as a whole. But we are by no means resting on our laurels – we aim to push these figures even higher and integrate more people into our working environment. There is still a lot of room for improvement, especially when it comes to the support for all LGBTQIA+ issues, which we intend to utilise and improve in the coming years.
