Siemens to systematically increase the diversity of its management globally

“Particularly in view of the shortage of specialists and shifting demographics, diversity is a fundamental prerequisite for our company’ long-term success,” explained Lee. For companies, qualified experts and managers are in ever shorter supply in the industrialized countries. By anchoring diversity as a key component of its company strategy, Siemens is making a conscious effort to counteract this development. The goal is to fill every position in the company with the most qualified employee – irrespective of factors like nationality, age, gender, background and religion.

Siemens has 430,000 employees and activities in 190 countries. In its ten largest regional markets, the company already employs people from more than 140 countries. In the future, this diversity will be even more strongly reflected in the company’s management positions. The company employs some two-thirds of its workforce outside Germany. At the same time, only 30 percent of the positions in its senior management team are currently filled by international executives. “There’s an imbalance here that we will change in the years ahead. We want Siemens to be a pioneer in diversity and intend to create an environment in which every top talent in the world can reach a key company position,” said Lee.

This is why Siemens is fostering, in particular, its star performers worldwide. Its Diversity Initiative aims to make the multifacetedness of different talents already working in the company more visible across national borders. Siemens also intends to foster interdisciplinary careers spanning its various operating units even more intensively and therefore will create and expand cross-Sector international networks in the future.

The first international network – the Global Leadership Organization of Women – will be launched on March 19. The goal is to leverage support of women in leadership positions to expand presence of young female talent and create visibility of their contribution. The percentage of women in management at Siemens has continuously increased over the last few years: at around 14 percent in fiscal 2008, it was nearly twice as high as in 2002. However, only seven percent of the company’s top managers are women. A second network is designed to link talents from the high-growth BRIC-countries Brazil, China, India and Russia. At the same time, some 100 employees will be appointed among our global workforce – additionally to their regular duties – as ambassadors in order to anchor the awareness of diversity more firmly in the company culture. Through cross-generational dialogue Siemens will also promote exchanges of perspectives between experienced specialists and younger employees.

By fostering more diversity in the company, Siemens not only intends to better satisfy the needs and requirements of the more than two million customers with whom it is in daily contact. Diversity is also a key tool for increasing the company’s competitiveness and thereby securing its future success. The more diverse a workforce is, the more perspectives, the more expertise, the more mindsets and the more momentum are combined. Heterogeneous groups are more creative, innovative and successful in performing complex tasks than homogenous teams. In addition, more diversity substantially increases a company’s attractiveness as an employer.

Further information is available at www.siemens.com/pressbriefing