They want to strengthen democratic participation. To this end, several companies in Hesse have launched the “Charter of Democracy” initiative. The core idea is to support employees who take on local political mandates on a voluntary basis. According to their own statements, employers want to create space for volunteer work and at the same time promote the exchange of democratic values within the company.
The initiative is also a clear statement by the companies involved for basic democratic values. This seems to be particularly important shortly before the local elections in Hesse on March 15th. The electoral success of the AfD has been increasing for years. It has since been classified as a right-wing extremist party, but since February 2026 it can only be described as a suspected right-wing extremist case. Many see the party’s plans as an attack on basic democratic values.
Five days of special leave for political engagement
How exactly the companies involved in the initiative want to strengthen democratic participation in their organization varies. The initiator of the “Charter of Democracy”, Bank KfW, offers these employees special paid leave and accompanying coaching. Employees who are elected to a local council, city council or district council in the Hessian local elections can apply for special leave of up to five days per year for the legislative period, explains Erika Holz from KfW and project manager of the initiative. This offer does not apply to poll workers.
Resilience coaching for public officials
“Local politics demands a lot – both in terms of time and emotion,” Holz tells our editorial team when asked. This was also the result of the workshop that KfW conducted before the start of the initiative. The bank would like to address the emotional component by offering coaching. KfW employees with a local political office can take advantage of group or individual coaching (twelve hours).
They are coached by external coaches who are also responsible for management training at KfW and are not politically influenced. According to Holz, the relevant employees can choose for themselves what is discussed. Possible topics include resilience or the separation of political office from work and family life.
KfW offers for employees without volunteer work
Both offers are aimed exclusively at employees who hold a voluntary political office. This is by no means the only way to promote democratic engagement as an employer. But KfW has consciously focused on this aspect. “Local politics forms the basis of democratic processes and is at the same time an important pool for future members of the state and federal parliaments,” says Holz.
Despite this belief, KfW also wants to motivate the rest of the workforce to work for democratic coexistence. To achieve this, the bank has teamed up with the Hertie Foundation, which offers political education programs for companies – such as those on how to deal with and recognize conspiracy theories and hate speech. There are also further training courses for young people with political commitment as well as monthly “Digi-Talks” on various topics. This is intended to build up the know-how of the employees.
These companies are currently part of the “Charter of Democracy”
In addition to the KfW, the “Charter of Democracy” has so far been signed by the Deutsche Börse Group, Fraport, HEAG Holding, the Hessische Landesbank (Helaba), the Kion Group, PwC Deutschland and Samson. The Hessian State Chancellery is the patron. “So that people can continue to get involved in local politics, we at Fraport are creating the right framework conditions and supporting the commitment of our employees,” writes Fraport Human Resources Director Julia Kranenberg on Linkedin.
Promoting democracy: It depends on the corporate culture
Many of the companies involved currently appear to be still figuring out exactly what their promotion of political engagement should look like. So does the Helaba. So far, she has focused on supporting social projects – for example by allowing employees to take up to two days off per year for social volunteer work – or on building diversity networks.
Helaba says it wants to incorporate the new, as yet undetermined activities into an existing cultural concept. To date, the bank has relied on the following pillars to promote a democratic culture within the company:
- an open and appreciative interaction with one another
- welcoming different perspectives
- Financial support for networks for relevant actions and further training
- a regular exchange between the networks and the board as well
- transparent communication about offers and attitude.
“The promotion of democratic values is not a single project, but a long-term, continuous process that is supported by the entire organization,” says Helaba. At KfW, Erika Holz is also convinced that the “Charter of Democracy” initiative must be linked to existing cultural aspects in the bank. “The most important basis for a corporate culture that promotes democracy is the strong commitment and conviction of the board of directors,” says the project manager. They must be convinced that employers also have social responsibility beyond the pure responsibility for the economic well-being of their company.
Lena Onderka is editorially responsible for the Employee Experience & Retention area – which also includes, for example, the topics of BGM and employee surveys. She also looks after the topic of diversity. She is also the editorial contact for the German Human Resources Summit and the HR Forum Banking.
