The Diversity of German Top Organisations’ Websites and Social Media

Abstract

Considering the potential impact diverse and not diverse communication could have on an organisation's stakeholders there is a lack of research about how diversity is communicated externally by organisations. Different studies have shown that gender-neutral language can positively influence peoples' attitudes towards members of the LGBTQIA+ community and that pictures can have a significant influence on their recipients. Therefore, the goal of this article is to find out how diverse the communication of organisations in Germany is. Through a quantitative analysis of media content, the websites and Instagram accounts of twelve German companies chosen through a ranking of Germany's best employers are analysed. The study's results show that the external communication of the analysed companies is not yet completely diverse, that there are differences between the diversity communication on the companies' websites and on social media and that the company size doesn't seem to be connected to the level of diversity. Furthermore, some companies are starting to adapt gender-neutral language and also show symbols that show support of the LGBTQIA+ community. Ultimately, the study shows that companies still need to improve on some levels, especially regarding the representation of people with disabilities and members of the LGBTQIA+ community, until their communication can really be seen as diverse -and until they will potentially have an impact on their stakeholders.