“Prague Pride Festival, as a milestone event for diversity and inclusion, is a lively and positive setting for us to demonstrate our values at Škoda Auto. For Škoda, it’s clear that diverse teams deliver better results, reflect the entire society, hence ultimately represent our customer base. Promoting these values internally makes us a better employer. I hope that by joining the Rainbow Parade with the gorgeous, all-electric Škoda Enyaq Coupé Respectline, we can continue inspiring people to actively support diversity in their own surroundings.”
Klaus Zellmer, Škoda Auto CEO
“At Škoda, we collectively advocate for a working environment that thrives on mutual respect, trust, and understanding. The diversity of our workforce is our strength. People can only truly realise their full potential in a respectful and supportive environment. That’s why promoting diversity across all areas with many measures and initiatives is part of our cultural DNA. With our commitment to Prague Pride Festival, we are taking a clear stand against intolerance and discrimination.”
Maren Gräf, Škoda Auto Board Member for People & Culture
Škoda Auto supports Prague Pride Festival as an official partner
Prague Pride Festival’s vibrant programme encompassed over 100 conferences, events, performances, and concerts celebrating diversity and championing equality for LGBT+ people. First held in 2011, this year’s festival focused on traditions and how they affect the lives of queer people.
As the official partner of the Prague Pride Festival, Škoda Auto emphasises its commitment to the core values of respect, equitable opportunities, and diversity – advocating these values across society. Members of the automaker’s Škoda Proud network were joined by many other colleagues at the festival.
Škoda Enyaq Coupé Respectline as a part of Rainbow Parade
The all-electric Škoda Enyaq Coupé Respectline was an impressive sight on Střelecký Island, floating on a pontoon on the Vltava River as part of the Pride Village. This unique vehicle also accompanied the Rainbow Parade. Its exterior and interior design underscore the importance of human rights and respect for all people, nature, and everything that surrounds us. Its original white bodywork, symbolising the unity of all life on Earth, has been enhanced with colourful elements, transitioning through countless rainbow hues as vibrant and boundless as life itself. These are echoed in other details and throughout the interior. After the festival, the Škoda Enyaq Coupé Respectline will feature at other events in the Czech Republic and abroad.
Diversity embedded in corporate strategy
Škoda Auto has firmly anchored its commitment to diversity and inclusion in its Next Level – Škoda Strategy 2030 and Diversity Strategy 2030. The Czech carmaker provides its workforce with a working environment characterised by equitable opportunities, understanding, openness, acceptance, and mutual respect. A comprehensive overview of projects, initiatives and measures in this regard can be found in Škoda Auto’s current Diversity Report.
A key pillar of the Diversity Strategy 2030 is employee engagement, facilitated, for example, through employee networks. These are open to all colleagues who share the values and beliefs of the respective network, such as a focus on empowering LGBT+ people, offering a space to connect and exchange views on various topics. One example is the Škoda Proud network, which is open to all employees and dedicated to fostering an inclusive work environment – along with Škoda Auto, the entire Volkswagen Group and other LGBT+ organisations. Škoda Proud regularly arranges meetings, presentations, workshops, and excursions to events like the Prague Pride Festival.
Since 2019, the car manufacturer has been one of the signatories of the European Diversity Charter. Over 12,800 companies and organisations across Europe support this employer initiative for the sustainable promotion of diversity and inclusion in businesses and the workplace. In addition, Škoda Auto joined the Czech Pride Business Forum initiative in 2021, which supports LGBT+ diversity in companies through building mutual respect and understanding.