Celebrating diversity with an inclusive mindset

This weekend, I’ll have the honor to be the patron for the 14th “Sternengala” in my home town Heidelberg, Germany. Sternengala is a charity event of the AIDS foundation Heidelberg with the main goals to collect funds and celebrate life. 100% of the profit of the entrance tickets sale goes directly to the foundation.  

Guests, speakers and artists will jointly celebrate the event’s theme “mutual understanding & inclusion” in the theater of Heidelberg. In addition to enjoying the program, I’ll have the pleasure to give a short speech on stage in my role as patron.  

Increasing awareness and raising funds. 

Why is this topic so important to me? HIV-infected people are our colleagues, our friends. They are part of our companies, our society, our daily life. They are not a threat. They don’t infect us when we work with them or spend our private time together. When they are diagnosed and treated in a timely manner, people with HIV can live and work just like everyone else. This is important to know and understand.  

Many of us know by now how they can get infected and in turn protect themselves. But this does not mean that we’ve won the fight against this disease. According to a study by the Joint United Nations Program (UNAIDS), 36.9 million people worldwide are infected with HIV as of the end of 2017. 75 percent were aware of their condition, and 21.7 million had access to HIV medication. Since the epidemic began, 77.3 million people have contracted the virus. 

To help fight it, we need to increase the awareness and information on the one side and raise funds on the other. These are just two reasons why charity events such as the Sternengala are so important.  

SAP’s vision: make the world run better and improve people’s lives. 

At SAP we’re supporting the fight against AIDS on several levels: 

• Through donations: At this year’s Life Ball SAP donated 50,000 euros for the Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project, a foundation that helps 10-20-year-old Africans to get access to health systems, education and information about HIV.  
• Through technology expertise: In collaboration with the NGO Youth Against AIDS SAP developed an online course on sex education, made available free of charge on the learning platform openSAP.  
• Through campaigns: The #positivarbeiten (‘working positive’) initiative was launched by Deutsche Aidshilfe, in cooperation with SAP and IBM. By now, more companies i.e. Deutsche Bahn and Daimler, have joined this movement to ensure that those with HIV are treated with respect and without prejudice in the workplace. The goal of the initiative is to address shortcomings in people’s knowledge of the subject.  
• Through employee activities: Around World Aids Day 2019, SAP offers several activities around the globe, such as info sessions, lunches, coffee corner sessions, movie nights and more – all with the goal to encourage an exchange of thoughts, questions and information. 
• In addition, SAP signed an employer declaration this summer, against the discrimination of HIV-positive people in the workplace. 

Diversity and inclusion: an integral part of SAP’s strategy.  

With around 100,000 employees worldwide, 150 nationalities from all regions and religions, spanning five decades of age, diversity is not only a buzzword for SAP. Diversity and inclusion are integral parts of our strategy and culture. SAP is the first tech company that received EDGE Certification from the EDGE foundation in 2016 and recertified in 2018.  

The share of women in leadership has steadily grown, now at 26.2% with the goal to reach 30% by year-end 2022. In addition, SAP Co-CEO Jennifer Morgan is the first woman at the top of a DAX company. Our company is also one of the first tech companies in the U.S. and Germany to proactively address the gender pay gap. 

Brought to life by colleagues around the globe and sponsored by SAP, we offer several programs and communities to our employees to celebrate diversity, such as the Business Women Network, Autism@Work, Dads@SAP and more. SAP also supports the community of lesbian, gay, bi-, trans- and intersexual (LGBTI) colleagues. Founded in Walldorf, Germany, in 2001, the SAP-internal network Pride@SAP has grown across all regions and counts more than 8,000 members today.  

How each of us can make a difference. 

As a father of three and a member of the SAP Executive Board, I have the vision of an inclusive society without bias, discrimination or exclusion. I want to live in a world where the “together” counts and is lived up to every day. This can only work when actions follow on words.  

The best inclusion is when we don’t need to talk about it anymore. We simply embrace differences as they may come and treat every individual with equality and mutual respect. This can and should be the norm, and I welcome you to also make a conscience choice to make a difference. With the world aids day approaching on December 1st, now is a good time to reflect on what we can do as individuals to support the inclusion of our diverse and multi-talented community. And this isn't a once a year occasion. Every day, we can make a difference.