Bosch hosts its first ‘Diversity Day’ today

Global component supplier Bosch is holding its first ‘Bosch Diversity Day’ at more than 200 locations around the world, involving over 280,000 staffers (‘associates’ in Bosch parlance). The aim of the event is to highlight the potential of diversity within the Bosch Group over a period of 24 hours.

The company is organising participatory activities, discussion forums, and networking events. The company sees different people, cultures, experiences, and perspectives as an important stimulus for productivity and innovative strength.
“Different ways of thinking and a broad range of perspectives are an asset to our company. They allow us to deliver better results for our customers and are the foundation of our business success,” said Christoph Kübel, member of the board of management and director of industrial relations at Robert Bosch GmbH. “With our global day of action, we want to show once again that we embrace our associates' commonalities and differences.”

Bosch says the principle of diversity is firmly anchored in the Bosch strategy, and includes the dimensions of age, sex, internationality, and working culture, where for instance different working models aim to help meet the needs of associates across national, divisional, and cultural boundaries. These models allow associates to strike a healthy balance between their career goals and personal aims. In addition, diverse working models promote equal opportunities between men and women. 

Mixed teams help the company meet a range of customer needs with the best possible solutions and products. Thanks to the experience of its associates and creative lateral thinkers, Bosch files thousands of patents each year. In 2013, the figure was 5,000, or around 20 every working day. “A successful approach to diversity cannot be imposed,” said Heidi Stock, who is in charge of global diversity management at Bosch. “This is why we offer our associates many possibilities to experience diversity on a regular basis in their day-to-day work.”
By 2020, Bosch aims to fill 20 percent of its management positions with women. Today, one in eight executives are female. “In some countries, we have already exceeded our target. In China, for instance, we have a 23 percent share of women in management positions. In Spain, the figure is 21 percent,” said Stock. Teams with members of different ages are also increasingly common at Bosch. While the average age of Bosch associates in Europe is 40, in the Asian growth markets it is around 25. Some 1,600 Bosch retirees are already contributing their expertise as senior experts around the world.

More internationality
Bosch says it is also making its management team even more international. Outside of Germany, the share of local executives will be at least 80 percent in the future. At the first management level, which includes positions such as group leader, the supplier has already achieved a share of some 90 percent local executives. At the second level, which includes department heads, the figure is 74 percent. At present, around 6,000 Bosch associates are working outside their home countries. Their assignments serve knowledge-sharing purposes, and allow associates to gain new skills and intercultural experience.

Photograph: Hundreds of executives and associates kicked off the Bosch Diversity Day initiative by attending a networking event. Pictured is a group discussion at Bosch’s Feuerbach location in Stuttgart.