DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION (DEI)I am Unique. We are Henkel.
At Henkel, we believe in the power of uniqueness. We believe in equity and a sense of belonging for people with all their differences – in our societies and our workplace.
The diversity of our employees, their backgrounds, experiences, perspectives, and the appreciation of all their individual differences are the foundation for our competitive advantage. We believe that a company culture focused on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) is the key driver of creativity and innovation. Our ability to deliver excellent results is fueled by and dependent on our ability to embed DEI in our corporate culture and the way we do business.
We are strongly committed to building teams that match the needs of the markets we operate in and the clients we work with, represented by a broad range of cultural backgrounds, skills, and knowledge. Diverse teams stimulate innovation and new ways of problem solving; yet they need an inclusive culture and leadership to help them function at their best.
Our colleagues make the difference. Our diverse global team and out inclusive company culture enable us to leverage our creativity and innovative culture.
Sylvie Nicol, Executive Vice President Human Resources and Infrastructure Services
In 2007, Henkel was one of the first German DAX companies to establish a dedicated global diversity team. Today, diversity, equity and inclusion is deeply anchored in the company strategy and corporate culture. To embed this in all areas of the company and to put it into action, we have established a company-wide DEI network which works collaborative across all departments and regions.
Our Aspiration and Ambitions
Our aspiration embodies our inherent motivation, justification, and guidance towards the successful future of DEI topics at Henkel. Get to know what we believe and stand for.
Gender Ambition 2025 – Fostering Gender Diversity across Henkel
We back our clear commitment to a more diverse, equitable and inclusive organization with concrete ambitions and actions.
One core dimension of diversity is gender. We are deeply convinced that gender diversity plays a decisive role when it comes to our success. We also see it as our social responsibility to mirror the gender parity of our global population and provide equal access to opportunities. That is why we have decided to pursue a bold ambition:
We strive to achieve gender parity across all management levels by 2025.
We aim to reach a significant increase of women on our top management levels as well as build the pipeline for future leadership positions on the management levels below.
Overall, we are on a good track and have made considerable progress in recent years, increasing the proportion of women to today 38% across all management positions. However, we also clearly see that even more needs to be done and we are fully committed to significantly accelerate our efforts. Learn more on our approach under our core dimensions gender.
Facts and Figures
Recent Highlights
Henkel is constantly developing new initiatives and activities to accelerate the spread of DEI topics across the whole organization and beyond. Here are some of Henkel DEI projects that motivate and inspire us on our road towards our ambitions:
Our Employee Resource Groups (ERGs)
We encourage our employees to form resource groups as platforms for sharing experience, providing mentoring and gaining insights.
There are 58 diversity-related ERGs across Henkel, addressing a wide range of topics like gender, origin, sexual orientation, and disabilities. Our ERG members come together, exchange insights and experiences and partner with our global DEI network on strategic initiatives to strengthen our inclusive workplace.