The beaver at the Pride Parade

Obi and diversity - if you think about this pair of terms, you'll quickly end up at the 2023 Pride Parade, where a colourful and orange float with a colourful troupe from Obi headquarters and the stores joined the - some would say shrill - procession. Always on board: the beaver.

However, it would narrow the view of the Obi and diversity concept very much if it were to be reduced to the beaver at the Pride Parade. The topic is now firmly anchored in the company, even at the very top, on the holding company's Management Board. CEO Sebastian Gundel makes his support for the idea of diversity visible in his demeanour, his appearance together with the employees and in the company's official statements. He signed the Diversity Charter in May 2023. Obi Poland and Austria followed suit later.

At Obi, the People & Transformation department in particular is driving the topic forward - with personal commitment: Stefanie Möller, Senior Vice President People & Transformation, is a member of the Diversity working group that has been in place at Obi for two years. She says: "For me personally, diversity is a topic close to my heart. I am deeply convinced that diverse teams make companies better - no matter in which dimensions: gender, sexual orientation, cultural imprint, professional background."

Around 30 colleagues from very different areas, from HR to marketing to IT and sales, are involved in the German working group - "truly interdisciplinary", as Möller describes this "alliance of volunteers". Similar initiatives have now also been launched in Obi's foreign markets.

The members of the working group are involved alongside their actual jobs at Germany's largest DIY store operator. But Obi has now also anchored the topic in the organisation with a full-time position. Diversity expert and university lecturer Asmahan Gamgami has been working as Senior Project Lead People & Transformation at Obi since October 2023 and is now also providing academic support for the topic. "Following the Diversity Charter," says Stefanie Möller, "we have taken the topic to another level".