Diversity is part of a company's social responsibility for its employees, and therefore an essential part of the BMW Group's sustainability strategy, and an important contributor to the implementation of its corporate strategy.
A diverse workforce within the BMW Group will contribute to the preservation and expansion of the company's performance capabilities, as well as its high level of innovation, make the company a more attractive employer and enhance the concept of excellent leadership.
Through a diverse workforce we aim to gain the knowledge we need to best serve our existing markets and develop new markets. Furthermore we preserve the performance of the company within a changing labour market scenario (e.g. demographic change and changing values).
Diversity management at the BMW Group At the BMW Group, “Diversity“ refers to a holistic concept for handling diversity among people in the company: uniqueness and individuality of employees are important values and contain potential for the individual employee as well as for the company as a whole.
Considering the increasing shortage of skilled workers and the need to serve our existing markets and develop new markets, a workforce with a good mix of ages and cultures is becoming more and more important, as is appropriate representation of women within the company, in leadership positions and in young talent programmes. Management of diversity in the BMW Group therefore focuses on three key areas:
- age / experience
- cultural background
- gender
More details on these key areas can be found on the sub-pages.
Our focus on the three areas of age/ experience, cultural background and appropriate representation of women, lays the foundation for preserving and expanding the company's performance capabilities. We also promote diversity within the workforce through the topic “Work-life Balance“, as well as promoting the integration of people with disabilities.
- Further topics
Commitment to diversity at the BMW Group Diversity requirements are implemented in practice at country and market level. Each country formulates specific targets, reflecting the local situation and legal frameworks, and taking a country- and site-specific approach to implementation.
In November 2010, the Board of Management approved target ranges for gender for the BMW Group and the BMW AG for the whole workforce, management positions, young talent programmes and apprentices. These target ranges will be integrated into the corporate target system by 2012. The Board of Management approved the diversity concept in line with the recommendation of the German Corporate Governance Codex to strive for appropriate consideration of women for leadership positions. Targets for the areas age/ experience and cultural background will also be defined in detail and adopted.
In March 2011, the BMW Group's Board of Management member responsible for Human Resources signed a joint declaration of German DAX 30 companies on women in leadership positions. In June 2011, the BMW Group joined the Diversity Charter.
Further information on diversity management at the BMW Group is available in the Sustainable Value Report 2010 (Chapter 4, p. 54 - 56, Objectives, key facts and figures, p. 104). The relevant chapters are available for download in the right-hand column.
As part of the BMW Group Award for Intercultural Commitment, a photo exhibition of the works of young artists highlighted the topic of diversity through black and white photographs taken at the BMW plant in Munich. The artists and their work are presented in the brochure “Diversity as Enrichment“, available for download.
