The ability to innovate and the sustainable safeguarding of the company’s success largely depend on how the Zeppelin Group deals with social changes, such as demographic change, changes in values, or changed life plans. This is crucial to enable employees to reach their maximum performance potential. This is where the Z COLOURFUL initiative, founded in 2020, comes in, which deals with the integration of diversity and equal opportunities. Diverse teams help to reflect better, act more creatively and make smarter decisions. An important milestone in this regard was the signing of the Diversity Charter by the Group Management Board in October 2020 as part of the virtual WE ARE COLOURFUL campaign week.
Progress in diversity
- Increase in the proportion of women to at least 20% by 2025 (status in 2022: 18%)
At Zeppelin, equal opportunities for women and men are self-evident, and also a key driver of the success. The goal, which is the focus here, is to utilize the potential of every woman as well as to support women in the development of their careers in the long term. Zeppelin aims to increase the proportion of women to at least 20% by 2025. The topic is being promoted by the Z COLOURFUL initiative, which deals with the integration of diversity and equal opportunities, and therefore not only strives for adaptation to a changed world of work, but also highlights diversity as a critical success factor. One driver for this program is the recruitment of female talent, both in the area of junior staff (e.g. trainees) and in the area of mid-career professionals (e.g. experts, managers). In addition, the focus is on targeted promotion and further development within the framework of all our HR development programs, regular offers on action days such as Girls Day, and our Z NOW initiative for the promotion and visibility of employees.
| Category | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Female | 16% | 17% | 18% |
| Male | 84% | 83% | 82% |
| Diverse | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Proportion of women on the Management Board (Group) | 25% | 25% | 25% |
| Proportion of women on the Supervisory Board (Group) | 25% | 33% | 33% |
| Proportion of women at 1st management level | 22% | 21% | 20% |
| Proportion of women at 2nd management level | 17% | 18% | 20% |
| Proportion of women at 3rd management level | 15% | 17% | 15% |
Measures to promote diversity
In 2022, there were again many initiatives and measures related to diversity, equal opportunities, and inclusion. In addition to regular stimulating diversity talks, employees worldwide were able to learn and talk about diversity in various digital presentations, discussion rounds and personal stories on the topic of diversity as part of an “Age diversity and generation management” action day. Building on this, the “Reverse Mentoring” program is an initiative that has set itself the task of passing on knowledge and expertise across ages, exchanging ideas and learning from one another. The Diversity Ambassadors measure will also be continued. In addition to the works councils, the ambassadors help to anchor the topic even more deeply in the organization and to address the needs of the individual SBUs in a targeted manner. In addition, Zeppelin is a founding partner of Employers for Equality, a program of PANDA GmbH for Gender, Equality & Diversity in companies that promotes equality and actively advances progress in business and society. Zeppelin is also a member of Top Women in Baden-Württemberg. These memberships promote Zeppelin’s visibility among professionals and experts and also increase its attractiveness as an employer.
Z NOW – Network of Women
Z NOW, established in 2016, is a strategic initiative which is primarily aimed at women, and is operated by the Zeppelin Group. Men are, of course, also welcome. Zeppelin believes that equal opportunities for women and men should be a matter of course. The aim is to help women reach their potential and continue to develop their careers. The opportunity to expand their individual network , inspire each other, and share personal experiences are also important building blocks. At each major site, network managers are recruited to act as points of contact at the local level. Another step is the planning, organization and implementation of Z NOW events, activities, and initiatives. Our presence at the herCAREER careers fair was another highlight in 2022 for attracting talented prospective female
employees to Zeppelin, and a large online event on the topic of communication and glass ceilings. For 2023, we are planning to expand our network as well as exciting events (e.g. a presentation on “Women and Finances”).