Diversity at Kaufland e-commerce

Diversity is crucial for a lively culture of exchange and discussion. It also helps us broaden our own perspectives and engage in open dialogue with other people. For us as an employer, diversity means treating every employee, every colleague and every applicant equally. Read on to find out how we put diversity into practice and what we are doing to advocate for this issue.

Equal treatment during the application process

We treat every applicant equally. For starters, we publish every job opening with a note that all genders are welcome. Plus, you can give us your pronouns in the contact form you fill out during the application process, which ensures we will address you correctly from the get-go. As soon as your application reaches our HR department, it will only be evaluated based on your experience and skills; aspects such as gender, age, religion and origin are irrelevant.

Diversity of our colleagues

Here at Kaufland e-commerce, there are so many people with so many identities! Our roughly 850 employees come from more than 65 countries, and 46 percent of them are women.

And it’s not just words; you can really see this diversity shining through in what we do:

The most commonly spoken languages in our offices are English and German. At Kaufland e-commerce, we want to create a safe space where everyone is accepted and respected. This is the only way we can be truly innovative. We benefit from the diversity of our teams – in meetings, brainstorming sessions and problem solving. Only when people feel at ease and experience acceptance, tolerance and respect can they confidently speak up and contribute.

Our Role Model at All Times principle encompasses tolerance and respect. After all, true role models don’t participate in exclusion.

Racism has no place with us. Read up on how you can actively stand up against everyday racism here.

Social Media Campaign on the German Diversity Day 2023

We are signatories of the Diversity Charter

We don’t just talk the talk; we walk the walk. We are official signatories of the Diversity Charter (Charta der Vielfalt). Read the text of the Charter here:

Diversity Day at Kaufland e-commerce

The German Diversity Day, initiated by the Diversity Charter, has been celebrated on May 28 for 12 years. It calls for actions that raise awareness of this issue among employees. As an international company with a diverse workforce, this issue is particularly important to us at Kaufland e-commerce.

In 2024, we organized a hybrid event to mark Diversity Day, which was attended by around 40 KECse in the Cologne office and a further 180 online. Under the motto “Celebrate our Differences”, we organized a “Diversity Day Stand-Up: Exploring a new country & culture”. Four international colleagues shared their experiences as newcomers to Germany. Diego, our Senior Platform Engineer, talked about the challenge of cold weather and punctuality in Germany. Ali, Engineering Manager, spoke humorously about cultural misunderstandings, such as the dress code not matching the corporate culture. Manar, Senior Product Analyst from Egypt, talked about the differences to Cairo, such as the quiet nights here in Germany. Iana, Senior Frontend Engineer, described her journey from Russia via Georgia to Germany and the positive experiences of trust in German culture.

After the presentations, everyone enjoyed international dishes prepared by colleagues at the “Taste of Different Cultures”. The event provided many funny moments and food for thought about the challenges of newcomers in Germany.

The Diversity Day 2024 took place as a hybrid event

Learn more about our Diversity Day 2024

In 2023, we organised a shared lunch in all our offices, with corresponding colourful decorations in every kitchen. There were treats from around the world. Anyone who was interested was invited to discuss diversity, either in-person or remotely. For a social media campaign, we asked our employees what diversity meant for them.

We celebrated the German Diversity Day 2023 in our offices in Cologne, Düsseldorf, Darmstadt and Berlin.

Women in leadership positions and flexibility for parents

Gender does not influence our judgements – not even when it comes to career development. We consciously employ a large number of women in leadership positions – also in our tech sector. With regard to our employees who are parents, we place a strong emphasis on keeping a work-life balance by supporting them with as much flexibility as possible in terms of working hours, place of work and time off.

Read more about those topics on our blog – have a look through our articles here!

Cheers to Her – our event on International Women’s Day

On International Women’s Day, we celebrated the achievements of women and reflected on the challenges and progress of gender equality in business with a hybrid event in our Cologne office as well as remotely. Franzi, our Head of HR, opened the event with personal experiences around the topic of gender equality in the business world. Our speaker Dr. Sandra Bell, Executive Vice President of the Viega Group, gave an inspiring speech and gave useful tips for women in the business world, emphasizing courage and confidence in personal strengths. Team Lead Product Operations & Growth Eva spoke about the importance of female empowerment and moderated Dr. Bell’s speech.

The event, which was attended both on-site and remotely by a total of 240 employees, offered networking opportunities and a Q&A session on topics such as children and careers and part-time work in addition to the presentations. Afterwards, participants were able to continue networking over snacks and non-alcoholic sparkling wine.

Learn more about our Cheers to Her event

Our Cheers to Her event on International Women’s Day