Commitment

Schaeffler has been pursuing the topic of Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) for some time now. A lot has happened in the past two years in particular. What is new?

The Schaeffler Group designated D&I as an important topic within the “People & Culture” sub-programme, as part of the Roadmap 2025, which created the basis for further important steps. Our international positioning alone means there is a high degree of cultural diversity. The transformation from a pure component supplier to a system supplier also increases the diversity of employees – in terms of expertise and ways of thinking. Therefore, it is all the more im-portant that we create an environment in which different people can work together optimally.

Have there been any organisational changes in D&I?

We have broadened the D&I organisation as a whole, but also adapted the global D&I Council, which has been in place since 2019. The members now better reflect organizational diversity. In addition to the members of the Executive Board of Schaeffler AG, top executives from all divisions are also represented. The members of the council want to strategically anchor the idea of diversity in the company, make it more visible, and connect different perspectives in the Schaeffler Group. The council ensures the accuracy, effectiveness, and implementation of our holistic diversity management strategy.
Since many people with different backgrounds come together within our four regions, we have created regional D&I Councils in addition to the global one. They act within the framework of our global approach but are tailored to local and regional needs and challenges. Specialists and D&I ambassadors then form local networks. The global Diversity & Inclusion team works closely with the different D&I Councils. In this way, we bring together the requirements of the company and the needs of the global workforce. And with the members of the councils, we have strong multipliers who in turn carry our messages and initiatives into their spheres of influence.

How do you make diversity and inclusion a tangible experience for the whole team?

We rely above all on the openness and commitment of our colleagues. Within the framework of the three pillars – commitment, awareness and transparency – we use various formats for exchange among the staff, for example at net-work meetings. We sharpen the view for the unique, but also for unconscious bias. Above all, inclusion can only work if everyone is committed to D&I. This means finding out about D&I structures and inequalities, asking questions and, ideal-ly, going one step further. We develop various training courses for this purpose and offer mentoring programmes so that employees can raise their individual awareness, join internal initiatives and work on their own behaviours and understanding. These offers are well received.

What is your vision for the future?

My favourite saying is “Inclusion starts with I”. We have laid the foundations by anchoring D&I within our organisational structure. But diversity and inclusion must be lived by all employees at Schaeffler. Our goal is for diversity and inclusion to be the norm: in daily interaction and in the company as a whole. We want our colleagues to see differences as an opportunity to enrich our daily work and make us more creative and innovative. This can be very challenging and exhausting, but in the end it is worth it. Our goal is that everyone feels up to the challenge.

Mentoring is a tool that strengthens diversity and inclusion at all levels. This applies not only to the individual stories that the participants bring with them, but also to the exchange of perspectives, opinions and experiences.

More mentees and more mentors: The “Women Mentoring@Region Europe” program is becoming increasingly popular at Schaeffler. With 40 mentees and 40 mentors, the third edition of the program in 2021/2022 is also significantly more extensive. At the start of the project in 2019/2020, there were 14 mentees and 7 mentors. Now former mentees are sharing their experiences as mentors. The participants come from various countries in Schaeffler’s European region and cover the three divisions as well as various functional areas.

The programme contributes to more diversity and strengthens the career perspectives of women in the company. To participate, mentees and mentors are nominated by the Regional Management Board Europe and/or the sub-regional HR Business Partners. The female talents from the European region select a European manager, to whom they do not report directly, as a mentor for the one-year programme.

This is how our mentees benefit:

• Tips and assistance for further development
• A better understanding of the big picture
• Networking opportunities within the company

Monika Pietrzyk (Vice President Leadership, Talent Development, Recruitment and Schaeffler Academy Europe) is convinced that regular personal exchanges broaden perspectives, improve social and intercultural sensitivity and foster the sharing of acquired knowledge. Personal and professional skills are promoted, and the professional development opportunities of employees are supported.

At the launch of the 3rd edition of “Women Mentoring@Region Europe”, Sascha Zaps, Regional CEO Europe, emphasised the special nature of the project: “With this programme, we are taking on an important role in preventing silo thinking and strengthening cooperation in Region Europe through the cross-functional, cross-country, cross-gender and cross-divisional exchange that the programme offers.”

Nadine Ilgenstein, Global Co-Head Diversity & Inclusion at Schaeffler, also sees the mentoring programme as a great opportunity for diversity and inclusion: “It is important to create an environment in which female talents have the same opportunities as male talents and are empowered for challenging tasks through an inclusive leadership culture. This is diversity as well!”