Kuraray Europe GmbH Sustainability Blog Better Together: Giving diversity a voice
Contact
Do you have any questions,
need technical support or
would like to place an order?
A company that people can be proud of – that was the vision of Kuraray’s founder, Magosaburo Ohara, a hundred years ago. Today, we’re continuing to work on making his vision reality. A group of employees from different areas of the company is especially committed to fostering diversity, equality and inclusion. The Better Together initiative they set up in 2022 aims to give a voice to everyone who feels that what they have to say has not (yet) attracted enough attention.
“We want Better Together to become a network that extends throughout the company,” says founding member Shu-Hsien Li, Manager Product Stewardship & REACH at Kuraray Europe GmbH (KEG). “The idea was born at an innovation forum where we considered how we could actively help shape the sort of corporate culture we’d like to have.” Open, fair and inspirational – that’s what it says in the initiative’s team charter. Better Together advocates for respect for people with different backgrounds and talents to make sure they feel at ease in the company.
Managing Director Matthias Gutweiler supports the initiative because he finds its vision compelling and sees it as making an important contribution to making KEG a Great Place to Work. He stresses: “We want to be a company where everyone likes coming to work, tackles challenges without fear, and contributes to our growth through their ideas.”
The initiative does not simply draw attention to itself by what it says – actions are equally important. Shortly after it was set up, it organized an international stall serving drinks at the company’s summer party to encourage people to try typical drinks from different cultures – from sangria and bubble tea to peach-flavoured Korean rice wine and calpis, a Japanese sour milk drink.
Another highlight was the initiative’s first big event in April 2024: “Empowering Women – The Power of Female Networks”, with the strategy consultant and mediator Regina Karoline Schüller. Her talk was given at both KEG’s headquarters in Hattersheim and its production site in Troisdorf. Colleagues from Europe and the Kuraray Group’s US subsidiary were able to tune into this hybrid event through a link that also enabled them to take part in the lively discussion afterwards.
The central role of women in business and their influence on sustainable growth was the topic of an intranet post by the Better Together initiators as part of KEG’s Sustainable September in 2024.
One format that the initiative intends to continue running is the KEG Inspiring Talk, where a speaker gives insights into her career and the associated challenges over lunch. The aim is to foster mentoring and female leadership and raise the visibility of women in the world of work. The first speaker was Juliane Löbig, Director Finance & Accounting at KEG, in November 2024. She reported on her career and the obstacles she has had to overcome.
“Diversity and equality aren’t just a trend – they are the key to sustainable success because real innovation only happens if different voices are heard,” says Sema Karakus, Data Scientist at KEG, who is convinced that every contribution to an inclusive company counts. Therefore, the initiative plans to drive forward its vision and go on advocating for a positive working environment where people are valued. One important factor for the members of the initiative is that Better Together is not just about women: it’s also about men, members of minority groups and everyone whose topics have not (yet) been given enough attention. The initiative wants to give them a voice as well.
© Copyright 2024. All rights reserved.
Products & Solutions
Sustainability