The so-called “Pride” season has already been initiated in June, as June is the official “Pride Month”. The first demonstrations in 1969 date back to this month, where gay and trans people fought for their rights. Today, international Pride Month is an important month to pay attention to the LGBT+ community and to raise awareness for equality. For the LGBT+ community, this month means hope for a colourful, diverse world without hate and discrimination.

On 22 July 2021, the German “Pride Day” will be celebrated for the first time. Thales Deutschland takes this day as an opportunity to affirm our commitment to an inclusive company culture where all people can develop their potential, irrespective of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

A respectful and appreciative attitude towards all Thales employees is the basis of lived diversity. If we acknowledge the benefits of diversity – whether visible or invisible –, we establish the preconditions for a cultural transformation with which we can remain innovation leader in the future as well. The diversity among our employees will help us to optimally combine different perspectives and approaches, and thus ensure our innovation capacity.

Signing the LGBT+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersexual and others) charter in France in 2019 was a significant moment because the group publicly reinforced its commitment in the fight against all kinds of discrimination. This step makes it obvious that Thales is ready to stand up for an inclusive approach where everyone finds their place and does not need to hide – This maxim also applies to Thales Deutschland!

What is the relevance of this topic for Thales Deutschland?

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Our employees make a decisive contribution to our company every day. In this context, the diversity of the people at Thales is our greatest asset, because we all benefit from our diverse talents and capabilities. We also benefit from our collective wealth of experience and knowledge which each and everyone of us contributes in their very own personal way to the team. It must therefore be natural for all of us, to respect and value the individuality of every person.
We actively promote diversity, create the necessary framework conditions and commit to a resolute support for all forms of diversity. The LGBT+ charter currently only focuses on companies in France, but the objectives and principles it contains apply, of course, also as a framework for our activities at Thales Deutschland. As an important part of our diversity & inclusion strategy it should be reflected in our daily actions. For the support of all employees it is required to overcome discrimination and create an environment in which we all can develop as people without fear and constraints.
In 2011, Thales Deutschland signed the Charter of Diversity and thereby sent out a signal for a respectful and friendly dialogue. Since then, we have always worked on promoting diversity & inclusion – with the initial focus on gender, but now also on other diversity priorities.

Bernd Schopp, Vice President, Human Resources, Thales Deutschland:

In 2011 unterzeichnete Thales Deutschland die Charta der Vielfalt und signalisierte damit eine Botschaft des respektvollen und wohlwollenden Umgangs miteinander. Seither haben wir immer weiter an der Förderung von Diversity & Inclusion gearbeitet, zunächst mit dem Fokus Gender, inzwischen auch an anderen Diversity-Schwerpunkten.

Brochure on inclusion of LGBT+ people

With the LGBT+ brochure (german only), Thales Deutschland wants to emphasise that this is also an important topic for us.