FC St. Pauli launches guidelines for more diversity in the workforce

13 January 2023

FC St. Pauli launches guidelines for more diversity in the workforce

The Executive Committee of FC St. Pauli has adopted guidelines to promote diversity and inclusion at FC St. Pauli as an employer. This step aims to make the working environment more diverse, open and inclusive. FC St. Pauli not only wants to live up to its social responsibility externally, but also live fairness and equal opportunities internally. At the same time, a diverse workforce helps to perceive more perspectives and voices to improve as a company.

Based on the members’ resolution from 2019 to create equal bodies at FC St. Pauli, which also calls for a concept for gender parity for full-time management, the diversity steering group was founded in 2020. In a participatory process and with the support of the advice center for inclusion in football “KickIn!” Since then, several fields of action have been worked on and possible measures for the further development of the club have been designed. At the same time, FC St. Pauli has networked with companies in Hamburg that are also committed to the topic of diversity.

The project managers Reyk Sonnenschein (Strategy, Sustainability, Change Department) and Laura Becker (Head of Human Resources), together with colleagues from various departments, have initiated six guidelines to which the Executive Committee of FC St. Pauli is committed.

The six guidelines:

  • Commitment to diversity
  • Act according to the FC St. Pauli target image 2025
  • Quota regulation as a control element
  • Transparency and diversity in management and personnel development
  • Promotion of individual life and career planning in the company
  • Flexible organization

The group has set itself the goal that FC St. Pauli will not require a quota for women in management positions in the future. At the same time, Oke Göttlich emphasizes that a quota is required beforehand: “A quota is absolutely necessary so that at some point you no longer have a quota, because over time, according to the idea, you have a satisfactory equal cast on different diversity dimensions. ” The president also emphasizes that he wishes FC St. Pauli were already more diverse than it currently is.

What are the next steps?

Now it’s a matter of using the basics and implementing them. For example, executives receive intensive advice on diversity-sensitive personnel selection. At the same time, workshops are currently being held with all employees of the association on inclusive and non-discriminatory communication. In addition, the “STEILPASS” project to promote diverse and barrier-free jobs is in the starting blocks.

In a podcast by FC St. Pauli, Laura Becker and Oke Göttlich explain why the guidelines make sense and are useful – and why different perspectives and participation are an advantage in competition. 

Projects

DFB – Football United Against Racism

The German Football Association (DFB) is the association of the 21 national associations, 5 regional associations and the league association ...

DFB Foundations Programmes

The DFB Foundation Egidius Braun and the DFB Foundation Sepp Herberger realise and support social and socio-political initiatives ...