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 the proportion of women to at least 20% by 2025
At Zeppelin, equal opportunities for all genders 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 Group-wide to at least 20% by 2025. This 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 key aspect of 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 our talent and development programs. Furthermore, the Z NOW initiative, Zeppelin’s women’s network, contributes to the promotion and visibility of female employees. The annual participation in the “her CAREER” fair in Munich as well as regular offers on campaign days such as “Girls Day” are intended to draw the attention of female (up-and-coming) talents to Zeppelin.
| SBU | Proportion of women |
|---|---|
| Construction Equipment Central Europe SBU | 15.1% |
| Construction Equipment Nordics SBU | 14.9% |
| Construction Equipment Eurasia SBU | 18.5% |
| Rental SBU | 19.0% |
| Power Systems SBU | 16.1% |
| Plant Engineering SBU | 18.4% |
| Zeppelin GmbH (holding company) | 45.2% |
| Zeppelin Group as a whole2 | 18.1% |
| 1 Proportion of women by headcount (excluding management board, excluding trainees) 2 Including employees of Z Lab GmbH, klickrent GmbH, and klickparts GmbH |
| Employees in management functions | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Female | 17% | 18% | 15% | |
| Male | 83% | 82% | 85% | |
| Diverse | N/A | N/A | N/A | |
| Proportion of women on the Supervisory Board (Group) | 33% | 33% | 33% | |
| Proportion of women on the Management Board (Group) | 25% | 25% | 25% | |
| Proportion of women at 1st management level | 21% | 20% | 20% | |
| Proportion of women at 2nd management level | 18% | 20% | 19% | |
| Proportion of women at 3rd management level | 17% | 15% | 15% |
Measures in 2023
Through the Z COLORFUL initiative, Zeppelin has made a Group-wide commitment to diversity, inclusion and equal opportunities. In 2023, there were again many campaigns on these topics. As part of Diversity Day, employees worldwide were able to learn and exchange information on the topics of diversity and inclusion in digital lectures, discussions and through personal testimonials. An e-learning course on dealing with unconscious bias was also launched, which is available to all Zeppelin employees. Our diversity ambassadors are still active. 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 but also welcomes men, and is operated by the Zeppelin Group. Zeppelin believes that equal opportunities for all genders 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 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. Highlights in 2023 were the presence at the “her CAREER” fair to draw the attention of female talents to Zeppelin, as well as internal presentations on the role of women in the development of the Zeppelin Group.
PROUD – the new LGBTQI+ network at Zeppelin
Diversity in terms of sexual identity, gender expression, orientation, and biological gender is an important topic for Zeppelin. The newly established PROUD network is dedicated to strengthening visibility and supporting diversity. 
It focuses on dialog, mutual support, and representation of the interests and needs of the LGBTQI+ community at Zeppelin. Currently, the network consists of around 15 people from different parts of the Group.