Championing gender equality: To a more inclusive future

In Germany, only 30.9% of all managerial positions are filled by women. Similarly, in 2020 it was reported that globally, only 29% of all senior management roles were occupied by women. As the figures stand, there is still a long way to go until the playing field has been evened out when it comes to representation in leadership positions. Diversity and inclusion are at the core of what we do at Delivery Hero, and the path towards equality is at the center of this. It is important to not only acknowledge that the journey is far from over, but also that Delivery Hero is committed to paving the way for a more inclusive future.

Read on to discover more about three initiatives that were started to help in the fight for equality at Delivery Hero: The Female Heroes, the Women in Leadership program, and the Women Connect summit.

The Female Heroes

The Female Heroes are an Employee Resources Group (ERG) at Delivery Hero, also known as our HeroCommunities. The group was started in January 2020 with the mission to help women start, support, and grow their careers within Delivery Hero. The Female Heroes aim to do this through mentoring programs, inclusion training and events, leading internal policy discussion, as well as encouraging men to become allies. Their mission is to inspire long-term change with a lasting effect.

The Female Heroes were founded on five main principles: connect, support, create, inspire, and aspire. This foundation complements Delivery Hero’s core values of being dedicated to caring, always aiming higher, and delivering solutions. Currently, the Female Heroes have around 170 members but continue to grow day by day. The Female Heroes hope to further influence Delivery Hero’s culture to grow into a more feminist space.

Women in Leadership

Delivery Hero recently launched the new Women in Leadership program. The purpose of this program is to enhance equity and increase female representation to create amazing leaders that strengthen Delivery Hero’s business. The mission is to focus on the growth of senior women leaders and provide support through a structured program offering. This consists of individualized coaching, community-building opportunities, and live leadership learning sessions.

The program seeks to create powerful moments of connection and growth in a blended learning environment. The ambition is that the program will evolve over time and will establish an alumni network that will give back to the program by facilitating parts of the program and sponsoring participants to create a community and network amongst our leadership. The program was launched in October 2021, with Delivery Hero’s entire management actively championing the initiative and acting as ambassadors for the program.

Setting an expectation from the top sets the tone and reinforces the commitment company-wide to such programs. This is vital to actively helping to make it a success. Currently, there are 25 participants in the first cohort, with the hope to keep expanding the program and accepting more women as it grows.

Women Connect Summit

In March of 2021, Delivery Hero launched its first Women Connect summit. Women Connect is a series of panel talks, workshops, and discussions centered around International Women’s Day aimed at enhancing and celebrating the amazing women who are an integral part of the Delivery Hero ecosystem. The summit explored topics such as mentoring, personal journeys, work-life balance, career growth, and leadership.

The aim was to give Heroes a platform to engage in conversations, networking, and share their experiences on a global level. Overall, there were 23 sessions, featuring 38 internal and 12 external speakers. Plans for next year’s edition of the summit are already underway. In combination with all the other great initiatives throughout the company, events like Women Connect are becoming a cornerstone in elevating the opportunities for women within the company. 

Commitment to diversity and inclusion is an important priority for Delivery Hero, clearly mirrored in the campaigns and summits being championed throughout the company. Gender equality is an ongoing process and every small initiative is a step in the right direction. Although there is still a long way to go, acknowledging the work that has to be done further contributes to development in the right direction and opens the door for honest dialogue about significant changes that must be made.