Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Gender

• Henkel has set itself the ambition to reach gender parity across all management levels by 2025. The company aims to reach a significant increase of women on top management levels and wants to build the pipeline for future leadership positions on the management levels below.
• With this ambition, Henkel backs its clear commitment to a more diverse, equitable and inclusive organization with concrete ambitions and actions.
• Over recent years, Henkel has steadily increased the proportion of women in management positions. Today, the level has reached almost 40 percent.
• 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 trainings and inclusion programs, expanding working formats such as shared or part-time leadership roles, as well as further leveraging Henkel’s numerous mentoring and networking initiatives for diversity worldwide.
• At Henkel, flexible working models, such as part-time or remote work, are part of everyday work life. For hybrid roles, up to 40 percent of remote work is possible. We understand that leveraging the skills and talents of all employees is only possible when we enable the balance between family and work.
• Since beginning of 2023, Henkel is a member of the global LEAD network ‏(Leading Executives Advancing Diversity) which aims to advance women in the consumer goods industry in Europe through education, leadership and business development.
• In 2024, Henkel introduced a new global benefit to support parents-to-be: Starting January 1, 2024, all employees worldwide becoming parents will receive a minimum standard of eight weeks of fully paid parental leave from the company. The new global policy is based on the role of the caregiver and applies to all genders and forms of parenthood, including adoptive or foster parents, same-sex couples, or single parents. With this initiative, Henkel is making a clear statement towards greater equality in childcare.

Internationality and origin

• With about 48,000 employees in 76 countries with a total of 124 nationalities, cultural diversity is a part of everyday working life at Henkel.
• About 83 percent of our employees work outside of Germany and 54 percent of our employees originate from emerging markets.
• An international workforce composed of people with different cultural backgrounds is important in a global company like Henkel, as it enables us to develop an understanding of our markets. 

LGBTQ+

• Henkel strives to create a working environment that is open to all people regardless of their sexual orientation or identity. 
• Henkel has LGBTQ+ networks in several countries and raises awareness of the topic through a range of events and activities. For instance, on “Pride Month” or “Coming Out Day”, the company signals its support for the LGBTQ+ community with internal and external contributions and activities.
• In 2023, Henkel participated in 14 Pride parades worldwide with around 600 employees.
• Henkel is also a member of Out Leadership, a global LGBTQ+ business network that offers insights and information on LGBTQ+ topics and key tools to promote equality. 

Persons with disabilities

• At Henkel, we foster a culture of inclusion that focuses on the skills and individual talents of persons with disabilities. 
• Through targeted programs, including in our emerging markets, Henkel strives to offer everybody an accessible work environment and equal access to opportunities while always focusing on a personʼs individual strengths rather than their limitations.
• Henkel partners with the NGO Disability:In to further foster inclusion in the different regions.

Generations

• At Henkel, four generations – Baby Boomers, Gen X, Y and Z – work together under the same roof.
• In 2023, about 7% of our global colleagues were from the Baby Boomer generation, 37% from Gen X, 49% from Gen Y and 7% from Gen Z. 
• The company promotes life-long learning across all generations through appropriate training measures. For instance, through mentoring and employee networks in different business units, functions and countries, Henkel promotes knowledge transfer and an exchange of perspectives between experienced and less experienced employees.
• Henkel also offers employees of all generations a wide range of programs for maintaining physical and mental health. The company’s social services also help to provide support to employees facing challenges at different stages of their lives such as when they take on responsibility for relatives in need of care.