Diversity – Klöckner has many faces
At Klöckner, we stand for diversity! Our diverse workforce contributes significantly to the company's success. We firmly believe that innovative thinking is only possible if it takes different perspectives into account. The successful implementation of our strategy hinges on the creative solutions of our highly driven employees.
We are consequently fully aware of the strategic importance of diversity and regard it as an opportunity to harness the broad range of skills of a multifaceted workforce in taking our business to new heights. This is why we advocate integrating and valorizing cultural as well as social diversity and sensitize our employees to create an environment where everyone is made to feel welcome and appreciated.
19%
Total proportion of women employed
19%
Women in management positions
Klöckner & Co is committed to an appreciative and prejudice-free working environment that values employees based on their performance. For more diversity in the workplace, we signed the Charter for Diversity Charta der Vielfalt in April 2021. The Charta der Vielfalt is an initiative to promote diversity in companies and institutions under the patronage of former German Chancellor Angela Merkel. At Klöckner & Co, diversity stands for the potential of opportunities that arise from the personalities of our employees worldwide.
We value and use the diversity of ways of thinking, experience, perspectives and lifestyles for the long-term success of the company. Based on the diversity dimensions of the Charta der Vielfalt, all employees should receive the same appreciation - regardless of age, gender and gender identity, ethnic origin and nationality, religion and world view, sexual orientation and identity or physical abilities.
As part of the Charta der Vielfalt, we are committed to:
- cultivate an organisational culture characterised by mutual respect and appreciation. We create the foundations for managers and employees to acknowledge, share and live these values. They are in fact accorded particular responsibility to do so.
- recognise diversity within and outside our organisation, appreciating the intrinsic potential residing in this diversity, and utilising it advantageously for our business or organisation.
- make the content of the Charter the topic of internal and external dialogue.
Kloeckner Pride
Another central aspect of diversity is LGBTQIA+. With our KloecknerPride network, founded in 2023, we provide a platform for the LGBTQIA+ community and its allies to connect and exchange ideas. We create a space where everyone can embrace their individuality and work in an open and respectful environment. Additionally, we organize joint participation in local Pride events, thus sending a visible message of support for diversity and inclusion.
Women's Career Index
In addition to our cultural diversity, we also attach great importance to recruiting women for specialist and management positions. For this reason, we have not only set our sights on increasing the number of women in management roles throughout the Group but have already incorporated and begun implementing it in our strategy. For example, the Group-wide share of women at management levels one to three below board level has already been increased from 8% in 2011 to 19% in 2023. The aim is to increase this proportion further to 21% by 2024.
For information on the proportion of women in the first two management levels below the Management Board of Klöckner & Co SE in accordance with the German law on equal participation of women and men in management positions, please refer to the relevant comments in the Annual Report ("Corporate Governance Declaration" in the chapter "Corporate Governance"). There is no doubt that our measures geared to advancing women in management positions are bearing fruit, as demonstrated by the results of the "Women's Career Index" for the years 2015 to 2024. This independent annual survey is regularly conducted by the Women's Career Index of Barbara Lutz Index Management GmbH and is based on objective corporate facts and figures relating to the promotion of women in decision-making positions. In 2024, we were honored for the tenth year in a row as one of the top ten companies.