Shaping an Inclusive and Diverse Culture: Sartorius’ Employee Resource Groups
Employee Resource Groups are key to fostering inclusion and diversity. Learn how groups like the Sartorius Business Women Association and the LGBT+ Friends Alliance are driving positive change and creating supportive communities.
This article is posted on Sartorius Blog.
Recognizing the value of diversity, Sartorius is committed to fostering an inclusive environment where every voice is heard, valued, and empowered to make a difference. This commitment is an ongoing journey.
Along this path, several Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) at Sartorius play an active role, in shaping the company's inclusive culture. These voluntary, employee-led groups are formed around shared characteristics or life experiences, such as gender, sexual orientation and more. They provide a supportive space for employees to connect, share experiences, and advocate for positive change, fostering a sense of belonging and community.
The Sartorius Business Women Association (SBWA): Empowering Women and Promoting Gender Parity in Leadership
With the SBWA hundreds of female employees have created an internal network for all ambitious women within the Group to come together, share their experiences and help each other grow, and promote gender parity in leadership roles at Sartorius.
To achieve this, the ERG focuses on addressing challenges for women balancing family and career, ensuring transparency through comprehensive gender pay gap analysis, and building a strong network to foster mentorship and support among women at Sartorius.
Among the initiatives by SBWA are a mentoring program that pairs experienced leaders with aspiring female professionals and the "Meet the Female Leader" event series, which features inspiring talks and networking opportunities , as well as panel discussions and a book club.
Alexandra Gatzemeyer sharing insights at the 'Empowering Women in Leadership' panel during an SBWA event.
Psychological research consistently shows that female leaders increase productivity, collaboration, and fairness within organizations. Despite these benefits, women still can face barriers to leadership. The SBWA provides the support needed to overcome these barriers, e. g. through mentorship. Sometimes, it can be as little as a discussion with a female role model that opens your eyes and inspires you to set new goals or to push ahead with the ones you already have.
Alexandra Gatzemeyer, Executive Board Member and Head of the LPS Division & SBWA Sponsor
North America Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Committee
The committee promotes Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) in the U.S. through community outreach, partnerships, training, and activities on occasions like Pride Month, National Coming Out Day, Hispanic Heritage Month or Black History Month.
DEIB Committee members and employees from the Bohemia site joined the festivities at the annual Long Island Pride Parade this year.
Its members engage in regular, open dialogues with HR to discuss and refine DEIB strategies related to hiring, talent management, and training. They also support talent acquisition at LGBTQIA+ job fairs to provide first-hand information to members of the community outside of Sartorius.
LGBTQIA+ is an abbreviation for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, intersex, asexual and other identities.
As part if their initiatives , the committee conducted a DEIB survey to confidentially gather feedback on diversity demographics and employee experiences, ensuring that every voice was heard. One of the key findings revealed that employees wanted to see more engagement with schools and Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) opportunities. In response to this feedback, the STEM Education Committee was created with the aim of increasing awareness and interest in STEM careers among students from diverse backgrounds, as well as providing mentorship and resources to help these students succeed in STEM fields.
To further support their goal, the team also launched two new employee resource sub groups: one for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) and another focused on Health and Wellness.
LGBT+ Friends Alliance: Fostering Safe Spaces and Promoting LGBTQIA+ Awareness
Driven by her own gender transition experience and the LGBT activities at Sartorius in North America, Marie Brandt, Test and Release Manager at Sartorius, established a platform for the LGBTQIA+ community within the company in 2022 . This ERG, known as the LGBT+ Friends Alliance, was created to unite members, friends, and allies, offering support and guidance to others on their paths.
Felix, Marie and other members of the LGBT+Friends Alliance's leadership team just before one of the rainbow lunches at Sartorius' headquarters in Göttingen
Coming out will always be a big step, but we strive for LGBTQIA+ individuals to feel safe and accepted at work without the need to hide.
Marie Brandt, Test and Release Manager at Sartorius & Founder of the LGBT+ Friends Alliance
Since its inception, the group has evolved into a global community, launching several initiatives to foster connection and support. These include a virtual platform that connects people from various regions as well as quarterly community calls that provide opportunities to share information, experiences, and aspirations.
