To mark Anti-Racism Week, we interviewed Ramin Ghalibaf, CEO METZEN Industries, on the topic of prejudice and its impact on racism in the corporate world
How do you define your company’s values with regard to prejudice and how do they affect your corporate culture?
At METZEN, it is important to us to create a work environment where respect and inclusion are central. We recognize that each of us has biases, often unconsciously, and that these biases, if not challenged, can lead to discriminatory attitudes – including racism. Our aim is to actively reflect on these biases and constantly question ourselves. These values inform our daily work and shape everything from recruitment to collaboration and leadership. Through open dialog, we foster a culture of mutual understanding in which everyone is respected, regardless of background or origin.
What does dealing with prejudice mean to you personally, and what responsibility do you as CEO see in this context?
Prejudice and its impact on racism is not only a social problem, but also a business problem. We need to be aware that each of us has unconscious biases that influence our decisions. As CEO, I see it as my responsibility to actively challenge bias and carry this awareness into our corporate culture, as dealing with it is an ongoing task. Our managers must be role models in reflecting on these issues in order to create an environment that is truly inclusive. This creates the basis that contributes to our corporate development and enables us to provide the outstanding solutions to complex problems that our customers expect from us. Without reflection, this would not be possible.
What measures has your company taken to promote a prejudice-free corporate culture?
We promote a culture of open communication in which prejudices and discrimination are openly addressed and questioned. Through this dialog about collaboration, we help our employees to become aware of their own biases and overcome them. When recruiting, we also take care to hire people with different backgrounds and perspectives in order to create a diverse and respectful working environment.
How does your company deal with incidents caused by prejudice that may lead to racist acts?
Our teams know that bias can sometimes be helpful in identifying problems quickly. However, when it comes to complex tasks, as is often the case in our company, they hinder the development of outstanding solutions. It is therefore important to critically question biases, as otherwise they can lead to exclusion, valuable talent being lost and average results.
In our company, we take incidents caused by prejudice or racism very seriously. Clear guidelines govern how we deal with such situations – both internally and towards customers and partners. We focus on transparent communication and sustainable solutions. Racism has no place at our company. We ensure that all employees can work in a respectful and safe environment.
How do you take into account the values of your partner companies with regard to dealing with prejudice and racism?
Our partnerships are based on shared values such as respect, diversity and a clear approach to prejudice. We attach great importance to ensuring that these values are practiced not only within our company, but along the entire supply chain. By working with suppliers and business partners who share a similar attitude, we create an inclusive and respectful working environment.
If prejudices or racist remarks are made by business partners or suppliers, we enter into a respectful dialog. Our aim is to clear up misunderstandings and point out the problem without being judgmental. At the same time, we set clear boundaries when dealing with discrimination to ensure that our employees feel safe and respected. We expect the same high standards from our business partners that we uphold internally in order to promote sustainable, respectful cooperation.
What long-term goals have you set yourself to combat prejudice and racism both within the company and in the industry?
We are committed to long-term change in the corporate landscape. Our goal is to create a corporate culture that not only promotes diversity and inclusion, but also actively confronts prejudice and its effects. We hope that these values will prevail not only within METZEN, but also in society and companies. Our long-term vision is a society in which a critical approach to our prejudices leads us to make better decisions – whether in leadership, recruitment or customer relations. We want to help companies take responsibility for actively addressing these issues in order to create a fairer and more respectful working environment.
We would like to thank Ramin Ghalibaf for the interview.
To mark Anti-Racism Week, we interviewed Ramin Ghalibaf, CEO METZEN Industries, on the topic of prejudice and its impact on racism in the corporate world
How do you define your company’s values with regard to prejudice and how do they affect your corporate culture?
At METZEN, it is important to us to create a work environment where respect and inclusion are central. We recognize that each of us has biases, often unconsciously, and that these biases, if not challenged, can lead to discriminatory attitudes – including racism. Our aim is to actively reflect on these biases and constantly question ourselves. These values inform our daily work and shape everything from recruitment to collaboration and leadership. Through open dialog, we foster a culture of mutual understanding in which everyone is respected, regardless of background or origin.
What does dealing with prejudice mean to you personally, and what responsibility do you as CEO see in this context?
Prejudice and its impact on racism is not only a social problem, but also a business problem. We need to be aware that each of us has unconscious biases that influence our decisions. As CEO, I see it as my responsibility to actively challenge bias and carry this awareness into our corporate culture, as dealing with it is an ongoing task. Our managers must be role models in reflecting on these issues in order to create an environment that is truly inclusive. This creates the basis that contributes to our corporate development and enables us to provide the outstanding solutions to complex problems that our customers expect from us. Without reflection, this would not be possible.
What measures has your company taken to promote a prejudice-free corporate culture?
We promote a culture of open communication in which prejudices and discrimination are openly addressed and questioned. Through this dialog about collaboration, we help our employees to become aware of their own biases and overcome them. When recruiting, we also take care to hire people with different backgrounds and perspectives in order to create a diverse and respectful working environment.
How does your company deal with incidents caused by prejudice that may lead to racist acts?
Our teams know that bias can sometimes be helpful in identifying problems quickly. However, when it comes to complex tasks, as is often the case in our company, they hinder the development of outstanding solutions. It is therefore important to critically question biases, as otherwise they can lead to exclusion, valuable talent being lost and average results.
In our company, we take incidents caused by prejudice or racism very seriously. Clear guidelines govern how we deal with such situations – both internally and towards customers and partners. We focus on transparent communication and sustainable solutions. Racism has no place at our company. We ensure that all employees can work in a respectful and safe environment.
How do you take into account the values of your partner companies with regard to dealing with prejudice and racism?
Our partnerships are based on shared values such as respect, diversity and a clear approach to prejudice. We attach great importance to ensuring that these values are practiced not only within our company, but along the entire supply chain. By working with suppliers and business partners who share a similar attitude, we create an inclusive and respectful working environment.
If prejudices or racist remarks are made by business partners or suppliers, we enter into a respectful dialog. Our aim is to clear up misunderstandings and point out the problem without being judgmental. At the same time, we set clear boundaries when dealing with discrimination to ensure that our employees feel safe and respected. We expect the same high standards from our business partners that we uphold internally in order to promote sustainable, respectful cooperation.
What long-term goals have you set yourself to combat prejudice and racism both within the company and in the industry?
We are committed to long-term change in the corporate landscape. Our goal is to create a corporate culture that not only promotes diversity and inclusion, but also actively confronts prejudice and its effects. We hope that these values will prevail not only within METZEN, but also in society and companies. Our long-term vision is a society in which a critical approach to our prejudices leads us to make better decisions – whether in leadership, recruitment or customer relations. We want to help companies take responsibility for actively addressing these issues in order to create a fairer and more respectful working environment.
We would like to thank Ramin Ghalibaf for the interview.