Diversity Management has a long tradition at Henkel. We want people of different origins and ages, and with a variety of individual abilities, to work together effectively and happily at our Company. In 2006, on the basis of our “diversity cockpit,” we formulated a variety of objectives and programs to promote even greater diversity at Henkel. This cockpit shows a trio of diversity factors – age, gender and internationality – in Henkel’s worldwide management structure.

In 2008, we developed and implemented fundamental measures for a global diversity and inclusion strategy. Among other aspects, we expect recruitment practices to be aligned so that the final three candidates being considered for any job reflect diversity in terms of age, gender and nationality.

Social changes such as the aging population of western industrialized states and the associated shortage of prospective young recruits present the Company with major new challenges. In response to demographic developments, we have developed a “demography radar” in cooperation with RWTH Aachen University in Germany, with which we can simulate the age structure of our global workforce under given conditions. Using the information gained in this way, we can take action in human resources management at an early stage to better enable us to meet the challenges of demographic developments. In addition, we offer our employees an extensive range of services designed to promote healthy living. These include medical check-ups, lifestyle advice, and advice on making the transition from work to retirement (see also Health).

Balancing family and career is a topical sociopolitical theme in many countries today and is a focal aspect of diversity management. We can only utilize the skills and abilities of our employees to maximum effect if we help them to master the challenges of combining career and family. We are therefore planning to make it even easier for employees to take advantage of flexible working hours, part-time work, and home offices – when this is economically feasible, and taking due account of individual circumstances. We believe that this will strengthen our employees’ bonds to the Company. Flexible working hours have long been established at many of our sites. In 2008, we also introduced flexible working time models at our Russian sites in Moscow and St. Petersburg.

In order to support our employees in their efforts to coordinate their dedication to their careers and their plans for their private lives, we offer locally organized working groups. Depending on the given situation or local challenge, appropriate targets and solution can be developed. At the German sites, for example, special attention is given to providing day care for children under 3 years of age. In Düsseldorf, a second day care center was opened in 2008, offering another 75 day care places to employees at the site. In Austria, Henkel cooperates with the “Employee Service” company to offer its employees comprehensive advice and support in regard to conflict mediation, health, pregnancy and family matters. In Spain, together with service provider “Más Vida Red” (More Life Net), Henkel is establishing a program at its sites offering a variety of courses and services on the theme of family and career.

In 2006, Germany’s Federal Minister for Family Affairs, Dr. Ursula von der Leyen, appointed Kasper Rorsted, Chairman of the Henkel Management Board, to be North Rhine-Westphalia’s ambassador for the “Success Factor Family” corporate social responsibility program. Further top managers have been chosen to represent the other 15 federal states.