Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging at MBS

Inclusive leadership is not just a buzzword at our school – it is something we foster in our participants. In order to prepare them to lead culturally diverse teams, we apply the Multi-Competence Team (MCT) concept in all of our programs, assigning participants to heterogeneous teams in which they conduct group work as well as their master projects.

Team-building workshops and MCT coaching sessions encourage participants to develop personally and hone their leadership skills. This enables them to learn from each other, overcome biases, appreciate each other’s differences, and benefit from a diversity of views and approaches to solving problems, which promotes the kind of collaboration and innovation needed in today’s organizations.

At Mannheim Business School, we want to make sure that every Mannheimer does not just feel included but also empowered and valued. We put a lot of effort into creating an environment in which participants and alumni can be true to their authentic self, feel welcome to contribute, and know that they belong.

We are also committed to making the selection of speakers lined up for our network clubs more diverse, to ensure that a greater spectrum of voices and viewpoints are heard and that all Mannheimers feel represented.

We take a holistic approach to creating a sense of belonging at Mannheim Business School: small and close-knit program cohorts, a large variety of clubs, regional chapters worldwide, and regular events that are open to Mannheimers across programs. These all nourish the Mannheim spirit.

If you want to enhance diversity in your (future) company or are simply interested in the topic, we invite you to get involved in our Diversity Club, Women in Business Community, or Pride@MBS Community for the LGBTQ+ members of our network and straight allies.

Many of our events in these communities are co-organized with other clubs, such as the Technology & IT Club and the Financials Club, to make sure that they are firmly embedded in the network.

Find out more about our network clubs here and sign up for the Diversity Club or one of its communities here. We are looking forward to seeing you there!

Diversity intersects with a lot of different topics. At our MBS Diversity Day 2022 we talked about gender, Africa, finance, startups, blockchain, investing, venture capital and many more aspects.

In the panel on “The Future of Finance in Africa”, experts discussed future visions of Africa, how the finance sector can help innovation, how to leverage innovation without harm to social, political, and economical developments, what Germany can learn from innovation in the African finance sector, and how to invest in African startups. The panelists were:

• Dr. Ola Brown, Founder of Flying Doctors Healthcare Investment Company, a company that wants to make healthcare more accessible and affordable. She invests in startups and businesses along the healthcare value chain.
• Mouna Kadiri, Head Africa Development Club at Attijariwafa Bank Group. The Club is an information platform to enable new sources of wealth creation; identify opportunities for investments; facilitate rapprochement between African business operators. Mouna is an alumna of the ESSEC & MANNHEIM Executive MBA 2015.
• Armand Zorn, Member of the German Bundestag and among others Member of the Finance Committee and the Committee on Digital Affairs. Armand has a background in legal consulting and as digital transformation manager.

The panel was moderated by Wilfride Petnga and Michael Khan, both participants Mannheim Full-Time MBA 2022.

Diversity in business leadership is increasingly critical for overall, long-term business success. In order to ensure that employees can live up to their full potential, they need to feel included, empowered and valued. Organizations of all industries and sizes have therefore started initiatives for a more diverse management and workforce as well as a more inclusive work culture. But there is still a lot to be done. How do you advocate for diversity in your company? What is the role of inclusive language for businesses? And what is the situation of women and belonging in startups? Participants found answers and inspiration during our MBS Diversity Day. The MBS Diversity Day was open to members of the Mannheim Network as well as corporate diversity professionals.