Equal opportunities for everyone – because diversity and success go hand in hand

Equal opportunities for men and women
Our efforts in this area include promoting equal access to the company and increasing the number of women utilizing professional development opportunities. Our commitment is paying off: the proportion of women working for the company has risen steadily over the past ten years to almost 23 percent – and the upward trend is continuing. However, we would like to see more women opting for science and technology careers. One area of focus is therefore to encourage young women to develop an interest in these fields.

At Bayer, equality of opportunity also means equal opportunities for career advancement. We have had considerable success in this field. Within ten years, the proportion of women in leadership functions has virtually doubled from 8 percent to around 15 percent.

In 2006 Bayer was awarded the “Total E-Quality” accolade for the fourth time by an independent jury for its enormous commitment to equality. Awards like these show that our activities to promote equality are proving effective and strengthen our resolve to move forward along this road.

Employees with health problems
Equality of opportunity includes fostering the employment of severely disabled employees and those with health problems. Modern integration concepts take their interests into account and make sure they are given due consideration when we are looking to fill vacancies.

Family and career
Flexible worktime models are important to help employees find a balance between their work and their private lives. Bayer offers suitable solutions for almost any situation – from flextime through part-time employment to teleworking. Our childcare facilities and generous arrangements on time off to raise young children enable employees with children to benefit from professional opportunities.
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Equality of opportunity and diversity are international issues
Equality of opportunity is a philosophy that extends beyond our German operations. We employ a large number of people around the world, so our activities to foster equal opportunities are as diverse as our employees. Naturally, they take account of local conditions and customs. At the same time, we have a clear cross-border focus, as demonstrated by the "Declaration on Diversity at Bayer", which was recently adopted by the Bayer European Forum, our platform to foster social dialogue between employee and employer representatives.