Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI)
At Henkel, we promote a holistic Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) approach. The diversity of our employees, their backgrounds, experiences, talents, knowledge, creativity, and the appreciation of all their individual differences are the foundation for our competitive advantage. As a multinational corporation, Henkel employs people from 124 nations in almost 80 countries. About 85 percent of our employees work outside of Germany, with more than half of them in emerging markets. We believe that a company culture focused on diversity and inclusion is the key driver of creativity, innovation, and invention. Our ability to deliver excellent results is fueled by and dependent on our ability to embed Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) in our corporate culture and the way we do business.
We are strongly committed to create teams that match the needs of the markets we operate in and the clients we work with, represented by an eclectic range of cultural backgrounds, skills, and knowledge. We are convinced that 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.
What makes the difference, are our employees. Our diverse global team and our inclusive company culture enable us to leverage our creativity and innovative culture.
Sylvie Nicol – Executive Vice President Human Resources and Infrastructure Services
Diversity & Inclusion is a business imperative embedded in our company values. We actively promote it among our employees, raise awareness, and foster an environment that welcomes and embraces different perspectives, cultures, and diversity of thought.
Diversity & Inclusion is firmly anchored in our corporate culture. It is not only an approach to meet the needs of increasingly diverse markets and stakeholders by providing creative and innovative products, services, and solutions; but it is also a company commitment to support an inclusive culture and management practice to leverage our full potential. For us, it is crucial that our leaders know and understand the commitment to Diversity & Inclusion as well as what is expected of them. This is why we put particular emphasis on strengthening inclusive leadership.
We value, challenge, and reward our people. This means we are a global team united by a strong set of values. We treat each other with respect, develop our capabilities, and promote diversity in all relevant dimensions. We take personal responsibility, always act with integrity, and lead by example.
At Henkel, we have been pursuing a holistic approach, embracing all aspects of diversity, equity and inclusion for years. In our overall DEI Aspiration we are covering a variety of dimensions, such as gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, and generations.
Our DEI Aspiration embodies our inherent motivation, justification, and guidance towards the successful future of diversity, equity and inclusion topics at Henkel. Get to know what we believe and stand for.
2025 Gender Ambition - Fostering Gender Diversity across Henkel
We are deeply convinced that gender diversity plays a decisive role when it comes to our success: Gender diverse companies outperform their peers. It is also our social responsibility to ensure equal access to opportunities for all. Additionally, our investors, clients and consumers demand balanced teams. That is why we have decided to pursue a bold ambition.
50/50by 2025
We strive to achieve gender parity across all management levels by 2025.
To strive for more gender diversity, Henkel will further accelerate its programs and measures along the whole employee lifecycle – from recruitment to development and retention. This includes gender inclusive recruitment and talent attraction, a thoroughly monitored promotion and succession plan, intensive internal upskilling on diversity, unconscious bias and inclusion, expanding new working formats such as shared or part-time leadership roles, as well as further leveraging Henkel’s numerous mentoring and networking initiatives for gender diversity worldwide.