Code Of Conduct

At the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES), we hold the fundamental values of Social Democracy to be our guiding principles: freedom, justice, and solidarity. In the spirit of these values and on the basis of our Mission Statement, we strive to work towards a society where every human being is met with dignity and respect, both in Germany and abroad. For our daily work this means that our workplace atmosphere shall always be characterised by mutual respect and tolerance.

We do not tolerate discrimination based on ethnic origin, sex/gender, disability, religion, world view, age, or sexual identity/orientation.

We reject any form of sexualised or gender-related discrimination and do not tolerate any sexual harassment. This applies to FES staff both in Germany and abroad, to all persons and organisations around the world with whom we stand in contact or cooperate, to our scholarship holders, to all contract partners of the FES in Germany and our approx. 100 international offices, as well as to all participants in our activities worldwide.

As an employer, the FES takes its moral responsibility and legal obliga- tion to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace very seriously. Pre- ventative measures aim at raising awareness among staff members for how to handle incidents of sexual harassment, as well as encouraging them to openly address these whenever they occur. Sensitivity and con- fidentiality are fundamental principles for the FES when it comes to exercising its obligation to protect and its duty of care towards its staff. The FES will pursue any incident of sexual harassment, investigate, and adopt adequate, necessary, and appropriate measures to penalise these infringements and protect those affected as well as other employees against further aggression.

As we go forward, it will remain imperative to continuously develop protection against gender-based forms of discrimination and sexual harassment within the FES. This is the only way to effectively counter sexualised harassment, discrimination, and violence. We take this challenge very seriously.