Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

We have set ourselves the global ambition of promoting female leaders and aim to increase the proportion of women in leadership positions with disciplinary responsibility to 30% by 2030.* As of December 31, 2024, the proportion of women working in the BASF Group was 27.1%. The proportion of women in leadership positions with disciplinary responsibility worldwide was 29.3% (2023: 28.4%) as of December 31, 2024. BASF’s management reviews the status of this target achievement on a regular basis via a global dashboard.

* In so doing, we act in accordance with applicable local laws. 

Furthermore, we consistently take part in career events to specifically reach and attract female talent from various disciplines. We focus on our female employees as role models on our social media channels and with various initiatives such as career fairs and networking events.

In addition to our voluntary commitment to promote women in leadership positions, in Germany, the Act on Equal Participation of Women and Men in Leadership Positions in the Private and Public Sector (Gesetz für die gleichberechtigte Teilhabe von Frauen und Männern an Führungspositionen in der Privatwirtschaft und im öffentlichen Dienst, “FüPoG I & II”) applies to listed companies or companies subject to co-determination.

FüPoG I & II not only applies to BASF SE, but also to various German BASF Group companies (see the overviews below). These companies set their own targets for the proportion of women on the respective supervisory and management boards and on the first and second levels below the management board as well as a deadline for the attainment of these targets, which they disclosed in accordance with statutory requirements.

The supervisory board of a publicly listed European stock corporation (SE) that is composed of the same number of shareholder and employee representatives must, according to section 17(2) of the SE Implementation Act, consist of at least 30% women and 30% men. Since the 2018 Annual Shareholders’ Meeting, the Supervisory Board of BASF SE comprises four women, of whom two are shareholder representatives and two are employee representatives, and eight men. The Supervisory Board’s composition meets the statutory requirements.

Following the entry into force of the FüPoG II on August 12, 2021, if the management board of a listed company consists of more than three persons, at least one woman and one man must be members of the management board (section 76(3a) German Stock Corporation Act, Aktiengesetz, “AktG”). BASF met this requirement in the reporting year 2024. With Dr. Katja Scharpwinkel, there has been one female board member. With six members of the Board of Executive Directors, this corresponds to a 16.7 percentage of women.

The Board of Executive Directors also decided on target figures for the proportion of women in the two management levels below the Board of Executive Directors of BASF SE (section 76(4) AktG). For the target-attainment period from January 1, 2022, to December 31, 2026, the Board of Executive Directors resolved as targets the quotas achieved as of December 31, 2021: 20.0% for the proportion of women in the management level directly below the Board and 23.2% for the level below that. As of December 31, 2024, the proportion of women in the management level directly below the Board amounted to 25.9% and to 26.4% on the level below that.

For those German Group companies that are subject to co-determination, target figures have also been set in accordance with the legal requirements in sections 36, 52(2) of the German Act on Limited Liability Companies (GmbHG). The following tables show the target figures set for the target-attainment period ended on December 31, 2021, the proportion of women at the end of that target-attainment period, the proportion of women as of December 31, 2024, and the target figures for the target-attainment period started on January 1, 2022, and ending on December 31, 2026, at the German BASF Group companies subject to co-determination (excluding BASF SE). The deadline for achieving the targets has been set for December 31, 2026.

BASF views the further development and promotion of women as a global duty independent of individual Group companies. For this purpose, it has committed to ambitious targets on a worldwide scale. The new target is to increase the proportion of women in leadership positions worldwide to 30% by 2030.* In doing so, we act in accordance with applicable local laws. As of December 31, 2024, the proportion of women working in the BASF Group was 27.1%. The proportion of women in leadership positions with disciplinary responsibility worldwide was 29.3% (2023: 28.4%) as of December 31, 2024. BASF’s management reviews the status of this target achievement on a regular basis via a global dashboard.

* In so doing, we act in accordance with applicable local laws.

¹ Since there are only one or two managing director positions in the companies and an enlargement of the management is not objectively necessary due to the size and structure of the respective company, only 0, 1 or 2 or 0%, 50% or 100% can be set as a target from the outset. The determination to 100% would not make sense, as the management would then necessarily only be filled by women and in some companies the previous managing director would consequently have to be dismissed prematurely. The fixing of a quota of 50% for companies with two managing director positions, one of which is currently filled by a woman, would also not be appropriate, because in the event of a possible change of the current managing director during the target-attainment period, which cannot be ruled out in the BASF Group due to the regular job rotation of executives, a woman would necessarily have to be appointed as successor. With targets set accordingly, a successful candidate is likely to be subject to massive speculation that she has only been appointed on the basis of the target. In order to prevent such a constellation, which would have considerable negative consequences for the working atmosphere and the acceptance of the management, a target value of 0 (0%) is set in each case. Regardless of this target, in the event of a possible replacement during the target-attainment period, a decision will be made after a comprehensive assessment of the suitability of all candidates.

² The Supervisory Board of BASF Schwarzheide GmbH consists of 6 representatives appointed by the shareholders and 3 representatives elected by the employees. The last election of employee representatives took place in 2017, in which a woman stood for election and was also elected. Later, she resigned for personal reasons. She was automatically replaced by the (male) substitute member elected at the same time. Since the proportion of women in the workforce of BASF Schwarzheide is only 22% (as of December 31, 2021), this had a limiting influence on the appointment of women as candidates for the employee elections to the Supervisory Board. On the part of the shareholders, the assignment of Supervisory Board mandates is purely function-related or job-related, and the Supervisory Board mandates are taken over exclusively by executives from the technical and operational functions of the BASF Group, in which fewer women than men continue to work. During the target-attainment period, a female executive left the Supervisory Board due to the assumption of another position within the BASF Group and her seat was taken over by her male successor. For these reasons, the target was missed.

¹ The company belongs to the logistics sector. Most of the activities take place in a production- and chemistry-related environment. The proportion of women in this sector and in the corresponding occupational fields is very low. This makes it difficult to identify and promote female managers. Experience since the company was founded in 2015 has confirmed this so far. The proportion of female applicants is less than 2%.

² The company was acquired by BASF at the end of 2016 and the targets were still set on the basis of Chemetall’s definition of management levels. Applying the criteria used uniformly at BASF to define the management levels, target values of 0% for the 1st management level below the management board level and 9.52% for the 2nd management level would have been achieved and only the target for the 2nd management level would have been narrowly missed (9.52% vs. 8.33%). The reason for the non-achievement of the two targets is that the company is active in the automotive, aerospace, aluminum finishing and metal forming industries and mainly employs personnel in the field of production and product development. The proportion of women in these industries and occupational fields is still significantly lower than the proportion of men, which makes it difficult to identify and promote female managers.