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Deutsche Telekom AG supports the United Nations Standards of Conduct for Business to tackle discrimination against lesbian, gay, bi, trans and intersex (LGBT+, + Plus sign stands for not excluding anyone ) people. “We are promoting an environment of mutual respect, tolerance and diversity. We stand up for human rights and promote openness and understanding in a digitalized and networked world. I am very pleased that we have adopted the UN's global LGBT+ Standards of Conduct for business,” said Birgit Klesper, Senior Vice President Corporate Responsibility.

Since 2000, Deutsche Telekom AG has been a member of the UN Global Compact, and is expressly committed to the United Nations Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights. “In joining 240 of the early supporters of the UN Global LGBT+ Standards for Business, Deutsche Telekom is sending a powerful signal to the ICT industry and beyond. As a responsible company, Deutsche Telekom is dedicated to respecting and protecting human rights including those of LGBT+ people.” said Fabrice Houdart, United Nations Human Rights Officer and co-author of the Standards. MagentaPride, the Group's LGBT+ employee network, is proud that Deutsche Telekom expressing its engagement to human rights by drawing the standards of conduct for business - tackling discrimination against lesbian, gay, bi, trans, & intersex people.

Deutsche Telekom is committed to providing a safe environment for all its employees free from discrimination on any ground and from harassment at work including sexual harassment. We are committed to a zero-tolerance regarding any form of sexual harassment in the workplace. We treat all incidents seriously and promptly investigate all allegations of sexual harassment. Any person found to have sexually harassed another will face disciplinary action, up to and including dismissal from employment. All complaints of sexual harassment will be taken seriously and treated with respect and in confidence. No one will be victimized for making such a complaint. Furthermore, we offer a groupwide human rights training for all our employees. The topic sexual harassment is included in the training.

Deutsche Telekom is committed to providing a safe environment for all its employees free from

discrimination on any ground and from harassment at work including sexual harassment. We are committed to a zero-tolerance regarding any form of sexual harassment in the workplace. We treat all incidents seriously and promptly investigate all allegations of sexual harassment. Any person found to have sexually harassed another will face disciplinary action, up to and including dismissal from employment. All complaints of sexual harassment will be taken seriously and treated with respect and in confidence. No one will be victimized for making such a complaint. Furthermore, we offer a groupwide human rights training for all our employees. The topic sexual harassment is included in the training.

Every two years we conduct our employee survey in order to obatin feedback from our employees, discover weaknesses, and implement suitable actions to eliminate those weaknesses. The analysis on team level and of other criteria (e.g. function, executives vs. leader vs. employee, gender, age group) support the derivation of fitting concrete improvement actions on all levels. Around 76% of all employees participated in the last employee survey, the share of men and woman - where gender was specified - complies approximately with gender proportion in the group (participation rate man around 67%, women around 32% and for the first time diverse around 1%).

In addition to the employee survey, we also gauge employee satisfaction every six months through a pulse survey. This helps us obtain a current snapshot of the mood at the company and verify whether the introduced actions have been successful. This lets us make quick adjustments if necessary. The pulse survey in November 2020 saw a 77% response rate among the group.

In a joint project Deutsche Telekom Stiftung and German Reading Foundation aim to awaken children´s interest in math and science and improve their language and reading skills by reading aloud to them. Appropriate reading materials (books, apps, e-books) are read aloud by volunteer readers to kids aged three to ten in kindergartens, primary schools and libraries. By late 2020, a total of around 3,300 volunteers engaged as volunteer readers in Germany and abroad– including 110 Deutsche Telekom employees (as of November 2020).

Deutsche Telekom's commitment to refugees started in 2015 as an initial aid task force with different measures, such as free WIFI hotspots or the provision of real estate to the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees. In the following years, these initiatives developed into the project "Deutsche Telekom supports refugees" with a focus on long-term integration into the labor market.

Through our activities, various kinds of offers for refugees were successfully implemented. In 2019 alone, 450 positions were filled. From low-threshold entries into internships to longer-term hiring for training or permanent positions: Job offers and recruiting processes were tailored to the needs of the target group. An example is the "Internship PLUS Direct Entry" program developed by Deutsche Telekom together with partner companies which was awarded the HR Excellence Award. In several phases with a slow increase in responsibility and sufficient time for language acquisition, it offered participants long-term prospects and stability.

At the end of 2019 the project was dissolved. The experience gained has been incorporated into our standard HR processes. In this way, we will continue to make it easier for refugees to enter working life in the long term.

The redesigned website of the Art Collection Telekom was launched in late spring. The site offers an overview of all works in the collection, which has a focus on East and Southeast Europe and fosters the dialogue between East and West.

With the large exhibition 'Keeping the Balance', the Ludwig Museum in Budapest reopened its doors under strict health rules after the lockdown at the beginning of September. The project was closely accompanied and supported by our subsidiary company ‘Magyar Telekom’. Title and concept for the exhibition had already been determined in autumn 2019 and received additional meaning with the pandemic. In order to make it accessible to a broader public, the digital presence of the exhibition has been strengthened. Artists produced short video clips that were shared on Instagram and the collection's website. The exhibition is also available online as a 3D tour.

The ArtScience Residency was launched in cooperation with Ars Electronica in Linz. It enables an artist to participate in a residency in a renowned institute and at Ars Electronica to incorporate in their work the latest developments in research, technology or science. In autumn 2021, the result will be presented at the next Ars Electronica Festival.

With the "Everyone needs education – education needs everyone" project, Deutsche Telekom and Deutsche Telekom Stiftung support the corporate volunteering efforts of Telekom employees at day care centers and schools since 2010. Employees who engage as volunteer readers or offer workskhops for programming with microcontrollers in schools can apply for sponsorship with Deutsche Telekom Stiftung.

Telekom has been supporting the Responsible Minerals Initiative (RMI) since 2008. The RMI is the largest initiative in the economy for responsible raw material procurement. Its aim is to identify conflict raw materials and to prevent their extraction and trading with them. The RMI goes back to a working group founded in 2008 by the Global enabling Sustainability Initiative and Responsible Business Alliance for the sustainable extraction of raw materials. Since then, the number of metalworking and smelting companies that participate in the RMI has grown steadily.

ICT products can contain processed minerals, some of which are mined under inhumane, illegal conditions. The proceeds are often used to finance civil wars in Africa. Telekom is committed to ensuring that the devices it trades do not contain any raw materials produced under critical conditions. It supports the efforts of the Responsible Minerals Initiative, which is committed to responsible raw material extraction and procurement. Their central instrument is the Conflict-Free Smelter Program and the corresponding Smelter Database, which is used to control the metalworking and smelting plants (Smelter). Independent auditors check whether the raw materials obtained come from responsible sources and create publicly available audit reports for each processed metal. To make it easier to report abuses, there are contact addresses where whistleblowers can submit their information anonymously.

After Telekom signed the UN Women Empowerment principles in 2015, we also signed the UN LGBT standards in 2019. For our work on equality, we received the Female Recruiting Award at women @ work fair in 2019. The magazine Brigitte honored Deutsche Telekom as one of the best employers for women and in the "Gender Diversity Index" of the Boston Consulting Group Deutsche Telekom achieved first place in the DAX 30 companies.

After Telekom signed the UN Women Empowerment principles in 2015, we also signed the UN LGBT standards in 2019. For our work on equality, we received the Female Recruiting Award at women @ work fair in 2019. The magazine Brigitte honored Deutsche Telekom as one of the best employers for women and in the "Gender Diversity Index" of the Boston Consulting Group Deutsche Telekom achieved first place in the DAX 30 companies.

In 2014 we became the first DAX company to develop a training program to prepare employees for supervisory board positions. The program was developed in collaboration with the European School of Management and Technology (ESMT). We are particularly interested in encouraging women to take a seat on the supervisory board. In addition to information on the traditional activities of supervisory board members, the training also provided insight into practical experiences presented by supervisory board members, case studies from the Group, and a simulated supervisory board meeting.
We also offered additional workshops for former program participants on topics such as “What’s new in corporate governance” and leadership networks.

Many of our employees are involved in addressing various aspects of diversity, for example as members of the numerous women’s networks that have been established within the Group thanks to their commitment. Another internal initiative is MagentaPride, a network of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transsexual employees. Established in 2002, it is committed to eliminating prejudices and promoting diversity. The network supports the LGBT community, answers questions, and assists with difficult situations in day-to-day life. MagentaPride goes to pride parades together and also organizes diversity days and workshops. In recent years, around 250 employees have represented MagentaPride at ColognePride.

In 2018, we signed the European Diversity Pledge – part of the “Embrace Difference” initiative set up by the European Round Table of Industrialists. More than 50 companies are among the signatories. They pledge to create an environment in which all employees can achieve their full potential.

The Diversity Charter is an independent economic initiative that is supported by around 3300 companies and institutions in Germany. Its goal is to promote the recognition, appreciation, and inclusion of diversity in everyday working life in Germany, creating a work environment that is free of prejudice. Deutsche Telekom is a founding member of the initiative.
As in past years, we participated in the seventh nationwide German Diversity Day in 2019. In addition to a conference with around 150 managers from partner companies in the Rhine-Ruhr network participated, the Deutsche Telekom headquarters in Bonn hosted a exhibition with fact, figures and statements from Board Members and employees to show how diverse DTAG is.