Equal Rights for All

The Protestant Agency for Diakonie and Development, of which Brot für die Welt is a part, has appointed an Equal Opportunities Officer to keep this goal in view. One of the officer's foci is the promotion of a balanced career and family life. The agency has been certified for its family orientation since 2011. Flexible working hours, the possibility to work remotely, childcare during the summer holidays or a breast-feeding-room make it easier for parents to balance their family life with their job. When children fall ill or parents need special care, Brot für die Welt works with its staff to find a solution to this difficult situation.

On the way to equal participation, much has already been achieved in recent decades at Brot für die Welt. The Executive Board posts of the EWDE, for example, are held in equal numbers by women and men.

In the other management levels, however, men are still over-represented - as are women in the lower salary groups. As well, significantly more women than men are employed part-time. In order to achieve a better gender ratio, the Equal Opportunities Officer regularly prepares a report recording the progress of the work.

EWDE also wishes to ensure that men and women are represented equally in its supervisory bodies, the Diakonie and Development Conference and the Supervisory Board. Since this has not yet been achieved - despite an increase in the proportion of women to about one third and one quarter respectively - the target of 50 percent gender representation was included in the statutes in 2017.

Sexual harassment in the workplace occurs in all sectors of society and in all professions. The EWDE endeavours to effectively protect its employees, as expressly required by the General Act on Equal Treatment.

For this reason, EWDE has had rules of conduct developed for dealing with sexual harassment in the workplace. These rules apply to all employees at home and abroad. They are also addressed to other persons working for or with the EWDE.

These rules of conduct are intended to create a working environment based on mutual respect and in which personal boundaries are respected. All personnel must be able to defend themselves against sexual harassment without fear of negative consequences – regardless of the hierarchical relationship between the persons concerned.

If you have personally been harassed or have learned that others have been sexually harassed by EWDE staff, please contact the ombudsperson.