Merck Aims to Significantly Increase the Proportion of Women in Management
Voluntary target rather than statutory quota
Merck KGaA has set a goal to significantly increase the proportion of women in management positions. Worldwide, the percentage is to increase to between 25% and 30% by 2016. It is currently 22% Group-wide and 17% in Germany.
“The current public debate concerning a higher percentage of female executives in companies is extremely important. To move the issue forward at Merck, the Executive Board has set itself the goal of increasing the proportion of women in management positions within the next five years to between 25% and 30%,” said Dr. Karl-Ludwig Kley, Chairman of the Executive Board of Merck.
However, Kley stated that Merck rejected the idea of an overall statutory quota. “It goes against any economic sense to put women into management positions just to meet a quota. Irrespective of gender, age and national origin, we must ensure that executives have the right qualifications and are able to perform these functions well,” he said.
In addition, the Executive Board is creating the new function of Chief Diversity Officer, who will develop strategies and measures to achieve the company’s workforce diversity objectives. Jennifer O’Lear, currently Head of Corporate Human Resources Communications, take on this new function effective April 1.
At 43%, Merck has a relatively high percentage of female employees in the overall workforce compared to other DAX-listed companies.
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