24.09.2024 Gabriele Strasser 2949

Diversity: set impulses and keep at it!

A portrait of diversity: To mark Diversity Day, our cooperation partner Sopra Steria hosted a very special vernissage. The exhibition "We are Poppenbüttel! 50 nations, 50 stories", in which 50 pupils from the Poppenbüttel district school in Hamburg tell their very personal stories and show the diversity of our society in a moving and impressive way.

As part of our "Stay in the conversation - show attitude" campaign, we spoke to Kathrin Lampe, Head of Diversity & Inclusion at Sopra Steria.

Ms. Lampe, could you give us a brief outline of your company?

Kathrin Lampe: Sopra Steria is a leading European management and technology consultancy; we are the German subsidiary of an internationally positioned French group. As a management consultancy, we offer our clients the entire value chain from management and IT consulting to strategy development and the concrete development of tech solutions and change management. As part of our group, we support our clients in driving digital transformation and achieving concrete and sustainable results.

People from over 60 nations work at Sopra Steria in Germany. So diversity is a big issue?

Yes, we have been actively working on this topic for almost ten years, offering workshops and events on the various dimensions, e.g. culture & language, women and others. Diversity and inclusion are two of our management priorities. Diversity & Inclusion is therefore a separate pillar of our corporate strategy - across the Group, not just here in Germany.

What is your role in diversity management? Is there a diversity team at Sopra Steria? 

I took on the position of Diversity Manager in January of this year. In this role, I work together with a young colleague and several colleagues from our business teams. We all work on these topics in part on a voluntary basis because diversity is a topic close to our hearts and we firmly believe that our commitment strengthens us as a team and as a company.

You have already mentioned the various diversity dimensions in your company. Do you have thematic priorities?

One of our focal points is the "Culture and language" dimension. In this context, we have launched the "50 nations, 50 stories" school project. We also focus on mental and physical abilities, equal rights for women with a focus on women and leadership as well as sexual orientation and gender identity.

This goes far beyond the diversity of nations. How did the collaboration with the district school and ultimately the "We are Poppenbüttel" exhibition come about?

The initial impetus came from an article in the Hamburger Abendblatt. At the same time, the principal Dorothee Wohlers, whom I know personally, told me more about it. I was enthusiastic, my first idea was: "I'll do that too, and we'll portray our colleagues!". But I quickly realized that this wasn't feasible due to time and capacity constraints. Then I got the offer that we could invite the traveling exhibition to us. I jumped at the chance and we opened the exhibition on May 28, 2024.
 

How can we imagine the opening of the exhibition? How did you perceive it?

We invited our colleagues as well as external guests to our Hamburg office, where we had exhibited the exhibits in the days leading up to the event. I then moderated the vernissage with a colleague. The students reported on their project work. They said that it was very touching for many of their classmates involved in the project to be asked about their story and simply be allowed to tell it, to be seen and heard without having to justify or explain themselves. 

The students made it very clear that very few people leave their country because they don't like it there, but in many cases there are geopolitical reasons. And that is always a difficult step to take. It's great what these students, aged between 17 and almost 20, have put together in their free time on a voluntary basis together with a journalist and a photographer, who also worked on a voluntary basis.

What was the internal feedback like?

There were a lot of questions on the evening of the opening and many interesting discussions afterwards during personal talks. There was also a lot of talk about it over coffee and lunch in the weeks that followed. My key insight - and not just from this project - is that all diversity activities are about creating awareness and drawing attention to the issues. I can't force an attitude, but I can always point out the relevance of the issues in a friendly way, even with a certain amount of persistence.

How was this project anchored in your company? Were there any team members involved, a project team?

We organized it in a relatively "shirt-sleeved" way. I knew what I wanted and then found great people to join me, and on the evening of the opening we had more than 50 guests. 

How do you organize communication in terms of diversity? What has proven successful?

We communicate with all employees via our company network Viva Engage. There are various pages and communities on the intranet dedicated to our diversity topics. Whenever there are activities such as presentations, discussions and training sessions that are likely to affect many of our employees, we advertise them internally.

This year, we opened our "Diversity Months" on Diversity Day with an exhibition at the district school. In June, we offered a presentation on physical and mental abilities in which we provided information on ADHD in adults. There was a great deal of interest. In July, we worked with many colleagues on "Unconscious Bias". At the same time, we offer lectures and training sessions on EMPLOYERS FOR EQUALITY, which we order from them as they present the topics very professionally. 

An important learning: The events must be short so that they fit into the employees' schedules. Nobody can devote a whole day to them. Our events last 60 to 90 minutes - we can provide a lot of impetus in this time. 

Do you have any tips on how to pick up the employees thematically?

1. Definitely our events, impulses and discussions. It's always about clarification, which means creating transparency and providing facts. There are many studies that prove that diverse teams are more successful in their results than homogeneous teams. 
2. Be persistent sometimes: I write to my network of colleagues personally about an upcoming event.
3. Very important: repetition makes the difference.

As part of our "Stay in the conversation & show attitude" campaign, it is exciting to see what topics other companies are dealing with. Are there any topics that regularly come up for you, especially in the context of intercultural cooperation?

We have a positive awareness of our different nationalities and cultural backgrounds. 

From time to time, team leaders approach me with offers and say: "If you ever want a cool, diverse team, let me know". And when I talk about diverse teams, I'm not just talking about different cultural backgrounds. For example, feeling part of the queer community and meeting colleagues you trust also makes for diversity in a team.

The topics always depend on the industry?

Exactly. I believe that at Sopra Steria we are in the luxurious situation of working in a constellation that provides the framework for these topics. At best, people bring a certain amount of prior knowledge with them. Those who come straight from university, for example, have often already internalized gender-sensitive language. However, this does not mean that we are free of conscious or unconscious prejudices. It is our common task to work on this.

If a fairy godmother came and you could make a wish in relation to the campaign. What would that be?

I hope that this openness to diversity, which was evident on the evening of the vernissage and in the many conversations afterwards, will be consolidated and carried forward. I also hope that the pme Familienservice campaign "Keep talking - take a stand" will bring many people into conversation and encourage them to take a stand in difficult situations.

Thank you very much for the interview!

"Stay in the conversation - show attitude" campaign

About Sopra Steria

Sopra Steria, a leading tech player in Europe with 56,000 employees in around 30 countries and recognized expertise in consulting, digitalization and software development.