APG is raising the rainbow flag for Pride Amsterdam. As an employer of three thousand unique individuals worldwide, we are showing that we want to be a diverse and inclusive organization where pension fund clients and participants can recognize themselves.
By hoisting the rainbow flag at the various APG offices this week, APG is reinforcing its statement to promote diversity and inclusion. But some employees are also taking individual action. For example, there is an LGBTQIA+ network in APG’s US location in New York. In the Netherlands, APG employees recently founded the APG Proud network. For and by LGBTQIA+ people. Showing the flag feels like extra support for the trio that they can be who they are and that this is possible at APG. Jay van Cleef, involved in the founding: “Especially given the fact that in the outside world, we unfortunately still need to call attention to this subject.”
And that is precisely why there is a Pride. And, as Erik van Dam, one of the other founders of the Proud network: “To keep showing that attention is needed and human rights are not a given. In many countries there is no Pride, because it is too dangerous. In many countries LGBTQIA+ people take to the streets at the risk of their own lives to fight for their rights. In Amsterdam next week we will celebrate Pride for them, and for ourselves.”
Progress
In addition to the specially designed rainbow flag that flies at APG several times a year, APG also uses a specially designed rainbow logo. Both consist of the original rainbow flag with the five colors of the Progress Pride flag which has a greater focus on inclusion and progress. Ronald Wuijster, member of the Executive Board and chair of the Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) Board: “While the flags are flying, the logo online and on social media reflects our sustainable identity and the values we want to demonstrate as a company. With this logo, APG supports unique individuals and underscores the need for progress. We hope to use it to make a solid contribution to a sustainable future.”
More than words
APG’s diversity and inclusion policy cannot be summed up in a few words. For example, there are gender-neutral restrooms at the Amsterdam location, and there are also going to be some at the Heerlen office. One of the most recent steps that APG has taken is to obtain Aspirant status on the Social Performance Ladder. By doing so, APG offers a place to vulnerable groups in the labor market. Another example is the collective bargaining agreement that allows employees with religious beliefs to exchange a religious holiday if, for example, they wish to celebrate Sugar Festival instead of Pentecost. And there is more: from signing various national manifestos such as “Diversity in Business” and “Talent to the Top” to setting up a D&I Board, closing the gender pay gap and organizing theme meetings for employees, on, for example, unconscious bias.