Some airlines from the USA have shown the way, and now Deutsche Bahn is following suit: cabin crew and railway employees who have customer contact can now freely combine their uniforms from the existing men’s and women’s collections. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a train driver, train attendant or service staff – the binary uniform look is no longer prescribed. “Finally,” writes Norbert Nirschl, chairman of railbow, the LGTBIQ+ network of Deutsche Bahn employees on the LinkedIn careers network. “Our corporate guidelines have been adjusted and now our 45,000 DB employees can put together their own collection, using exactly the items of clothing they feel most comfortable in.” They could “choose their own corporate clothing, completely independent of their gender or gender identity,” says Nirschl.
Nirschl and CEO Lutz announced the liberalization of the dress code on Linkedin on Wednesday. “We have adapted an existing traditional regulation,” wrote CEO Lutz. According to the company, more and more employees have expressed the desire to abolish the dress code. So far, an individual agreement with the respective manager was necessary, now access to the desired clothing is low-threshold and directly possible, according to a group spokeswoman on SZ request.
More attractive on the job market
For decades, Deutsche Bahn employees had to choose between a men’s and a women’s collection, the role models were fixed. “As #railbow we are proud of our employer Deutsche Bahnwhich gives all employees the opportunity to develop freely,” comments railbow chairman Nirschl. The announcement was made in connection with the Group’s own Diversity Week, which begins next week.
The state-owned company could also become more attractive on the job market with this step. Personnel problems and recruiting young people could become easier as a modern employer in the future. “The elimination of gender-specific corporate clothing reflects the attitude of DB as a cosmopolitan and diverse employer. Diversity, openness, tolerance and respect are fundamental values of Deutsche Bahn,” said a spokeswoman. It is still unclear whether other German companies, such as Lufthansa, will follow the example of Deutsche Bahn. When asked by SZ, a Lufthansa spokeswoman was initially unable to say anything.
For rail customers, there will also be changes in questions of equality from January 2023. According to a judgment by the Frankfurt Higher Regional Court in June, Deutsche Bahn must offer its customers a gender-neutral form of address when buying tickets online. The court ruled that the previous choices, either “Mr.” or “Mrs.” constituted discrimination.