Annual Report 2022

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Creating tomorrow’s solutions

Diversity, Inclusion and Equal Opportunity

WACKER’s goal is an unbiased work environment, where every employee can contribute to the company’s success – and where employees with disabilities or with an equivalent status are integrated over the long term. Diversity management at WACKER focuses not only on inclusion, but also on the issues of gender and cultural background. WACKER is a member of Germany’s Diversity Charter initiative and constantly monitors awareness of the charter’s seven dimensions of diversity.

We view human diversity as an asset. We oppose discriminatory or derogatory treatment, for instance, on the basis of gender, race, ethnicity, religion, ideology, disability, sexual orientation or age. These principles are valid throughout the WACKER Group and, as part of our corporate culture, are embodied in our Code of Conduct. Employees can report incidents of potential discrimination – even anonymously. Reports can be made to a supervisor, compliance officer, employee representative or designated HR contact person. Every complaint is investigated, and the reporting party is informed of the outcome. Discrimination incidents are recorded quarterly in the compliance report submitted to the Executive Board. They are also mentioned in the regular reports submitted to the Supervisory Board. We require all employees at our German sites to familiarize themselves with the country’s General Equal Treatment Act (AGG) by completing an e-learning course.

In the reporting year, we set new diversity targets for promoting women and internationality in management:

  • By the year 2030, roughly one-third of management positions in the WACKER Group should be held by women.
  • WACKER is planning to place around every second regional management position outside Germany by 2030.
Targets 2030: Management Positions – 33% Women, 50% Outside Germany

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

%

 

2022

 

2021

 

2020

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Management positions held by women

 

20.6

 

18.5

 

16.9

Management positions outside of Germany

 

29.6

 

28.5

 

27.4

Diversity, Inclusion and Equal Opportunity

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2022

 

2021

 

2020

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Workforce, groupwide

 

15,725

 

14,406

 

14,283

Of whom female

 

3,844

 

3,451

 

3,404

Female employees, groupwide (%)

 

24.4

 

24.0

 

23.8

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Workforce in Germany

 

10,424

 

10,006

 

10,099

Of whom non-German

 

1,039

 

987

 

1,005

Non-German employees in Germany (%)

 

10.0

 

9.9

 

10.0

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Employees in middle management, groupwide
(managerial level 3)

 

3,451

 

3,252

 

3,278

Of whom female

 

891

 

824

 

804

Women in middle management, groupwide (%)

 

25.8

 

25.3

 

24.5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Executive personnel (OFK), groupwide1

 

150

 

159

 

169

Of whom female senior executives

 

27

 

27

 

25

Female senior executives, groupwide (%)

 

18.0

 

17.0

 

14.8

1

Figures for executives (OFKs) exclude inactive employment contracts and the Executive Board of Wacker Chemie AG

15 percent of Group employees are under 30 years of age; 57 percent are from age 30 to 50 years; 28 percent are over 50.

People from 84 nations work for WACKER. At the end of 2022, 46 out of a total of 150 executives groupwide were of non-German nationality, corresponding to 30.7 percent of the total. A total of 17 nationalities were represented at the senior executive level.

The composition of our management personnel reflects the global nature of our business. In recent years, WACKER has increasingly filled leadership positions in its regions with local employees rather than with executives sent there on assignment from Germany. The main criterion for filling executive positions remains qualification. In Germany, the General Equal Treatment Act (AGG) forbids the selection of personnel based on ethnicity. A similar situation exists in other WACKER regions, such as China and the USA, where we make choices primarily on the basis of qualifications.

Women in Executive Positions

When calculating the proportion of women in management positions pursuant to Section 76 IV of the German Stock Corporation Act (AktG), WACKER focuses on the two levels of management below the Executive Board as depicted in the Wacker Chemie AG organizational chart. With regard to the second reporting level, we decided to include only managerial employees from the highest non-payscale level or those who are OFK executive personnel with responsibility for managing employees. The Declaration on Corporate Management contains information about the proportion of women in management and about how WACKER is implementing the German statute on equal opportunity for women and men in management. We defined a new target for women in the first and second levels of management below the Executive Board. The initial target was 21 percent at the first level and 20 percent at the second. As of December 31, 2022, we reached 25 percent at the first level and 23 percent at the second. Our new target is to ensure that women account for 25 percent at both levels by 2026. In 2022, seven women and ten men held positions on Wacker Chemie AG’s Supervisory Board. The Executive Board comprises one woman and three men, which complies with the German Act on Equal Opportunity in Management (FüPoG II).

The Culture & Diversity Committee, whose members are from different departments, has initiated activities for achieving diversity in the Group, for example with information booths and online events. We support the use of gender-sensitive German language usage in the Group and have published a reference document in the intranet that provides a guide for employees as well as a platform for inquiries and suggestions.

The WACKER Women’s Circle, an initiative launched by women in the Group, celebrated its tenth anniversary in the reporting year. This Circle raises awareness throughout the Group for diversity and supports women, for example with a mentoring program.

Inclusion

At WACKER, special arrangements are in place for anyone who has disabilities, who has equivalent status or whose health is impaired. To provide targeted support in line with local laws and regulations, WACKER’s system of workplace integration management calls for close cooperation between supervisors, employees, Human Resources, employee representatives, representatives of employees with disabilities, and Health Services.

For years, the number of disabled employees at WACKER Germany has exceeded statutory minimum requirements. Even so, we had to pay a low compensatory levy in the reporting year, as not every subsidiary achieved the five-percent target. 89 percent of employees with severe disabilities or with an equivalent status at WACKER Germany are remunerated on the basis of the standard payscale. The average age of disabled employees at WACKER is 51.5. The Burghausen site hired a disabled young person for an apprentice position in the reporting year and we offered regular employment to another disabled apprentice was he successfully completed his training.

Life-Phase-Oriented Work

WACKER offers its employees extensive opportunities to balance their private and professional lives. These include multiple work-time models in Germany, such as working on a trust basis (work-time autonomy); childcare assistance; school-vacation support at Burghausen (our largest site); and one week of “family time” for parents of children under eight or for employees providing caregiving to relatives.

Working conditions in times such as the coronavirus pandemic in particular require flexible responses. We have extended company agreements on remote work at German sites. After obtaining approval from their supervisors, employees have the opportunity of performing an agreed portion of their work remotely.

Our employees have access to a variety of leave options and part-time models for personal situations, such as providing caregiving to family members, pursuing further education or taking a sabbatical. Unpaid leaves of absence are possible for periods of up to two years; for the duration of our Shape the Future efficiency program, that can also be extended by up to four years. These arrangements are based on company agreements and on the “Working Life and Demography” collective-bargaining agreement, and offer employees a wide range of options for balancing their careers with different stages of their lives.

We actively support childcare services and a return to work after maternity/paternity leave, e.g. by offering reintegration workshops. At our German sites, a service provider helps find places for children in kindergartens and day care centers or provides support in finding alternative care options. Whether employees themselves or family members fall ill or need caregiving, employees in Germany can obtain advice from a consultation service.

WACKER’s membership in the “Familienpakt Bayern” (Family Pact Bavaria) network, sponsored jointly by the Bavarian government and Bavarian industry, highlights our goal to foster a family-friendly corporate culture.

Part-Time Employment and Leaves of Absence

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2022

 

2021

 

2020

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Part-time employees, Germany1

 

3,379

 

3,327

 

3,195

Of whom women

 

1,136

 

1,099

 

1,001

Of whom men

 

2,243

 

2,228

 

2,194

Part-time employees, Germany (%)

 

32.4

 

33.3

 

31.6

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Employees in phased early retirement

 

1,435

 

1,431

 

798

Of whom in the passive phase

 

669

 

522

 

506

1

Working less than 100%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2022

 

2021

 

2020

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sabbaticals1

 

68

 

59

 

73

Additional qualifications2

 

20

 

19

 

19

Caregiving3

 

5.0

 

4.0

 

5

Total

 

93

 

82

 

97

1

Time off for personal reasons

2

Advanced training either part-time alongside work or full-time

3

Leave to provide care for a family member