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BASF refocuses women’s group for inclusivity, in time for International Women’s Day
Rachel Dong grew up in China, where International Women’s Day (IWD) is a significant holiday, celebrating the female workforce – a sizable one in her country of origin.
“I think this holiday is very important because it’s a time when women evaluate their place in the world, determine their value and how they contribute to society while also celebrating their professional successes,” said Dong, Global Strategic Pricing Manager, Global Light Duty Mobile Emissions Catalysts, BASF.
The March 8th annual holiday has been observed since the early 1900s – a time of great expansion and turbulence in the industrialized world that saw booming population growth and the rise of radical ideologies.
That was when women's oppression and inequality was spurring females to become more vocal and active in campaigning for change. Historically, IWD is a global tradition celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating women’s equality.
It is no wonder that Dong’s place of employment – global chemical company BASF – is using this day as an opportunity to launch the renaming of one of its largest and longest tenured employee resource groups (ERGs) in North America. As part of the company’s Inclusion strategy, the ‘Women in Business’ Employee Resource Group, with 26 chapters across the U.S., Canada and Mexico, will now be repositioned as ‘Women in BASF’, a change aimed at more actively including women working in all parts of the company, from manufacturing to R&D to a wide range of commercial and enterprise roles.
Women in BASF (WIB) in North America focuses on ensuring female employees are equally represented throughout the organization and afforded more development opportunities. Its mission is to assist the company in attracting, developing, promoting, and retaining women in support of BASF’s core business values and changing social environments.
The name-change idea had been building for some time. It surfaced again at the previous International Women’s Day, when Women in Business members took part in breakout sessions, and completed surveys, all pointing to similar feedback. The word ‘business' in ‘Women in Business’ was unintentionally perceived as non-inclusive to women who work in other areas of the company. Changing the name to better reflect an inclusive culture further supports the company’s core commitment to belonging, and the value of the social media hashtag #belongatBASF that’s widely used by many employees.
“The intent was for BASF women to become one,” said Jennifer Curtis, Sr. Supply Chain Planner, BASF, and WIB North America Co-Chair. “We wanted to be more inclusive of women specifically at our smaller manufacturing sites, in R&D and at labs. We are working to fully mobilize the power of women by reducing isolation and creating an even more inclusive one-BASF experience.”
“Our purpose is to support and help all females in the organization,” added Dong, who’s also the Chair for WIB North America. “BASF is very focused on diversity and inclusion, that’s part of our corporate strategy.”
WIB ERG has made a large impact at BASF since its establishment more than two decades ago. The renaming is intended to provide even greater success in the future.
“Women in Business is one of our oldest employee resource groups. It has been an enduring positive force at BASF because of its strength in reacting, adapting, and staying ahead of change,” said Patricia Rossman, Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer. “This is a good time to rename to Women in BASF. There is more that joins us together, that is why a more inclusive name was in order. Women in BASF is open to all who want to drive positive change, including our male allies who are vital to these efforts.”
A fair representation of women in the workforce is a high priority at BASF. To raise female presence in all segments, across the board, the company announced last year that it has an aspirational target of employing 30% of women in leadership roles worldwide by 2030 in order to support a globally inclusive culture and work environment. The company is taking the necessary steps to meet this aspirational target.
“We are working on many levels, particularly in our manufacturing sites, to make sure we are getting the basics right and creating the infrastructure and culture needed to make inclusion authentic and sustainable for our people, our customers and the members of our local communities,” Curtis added.
In addition to renaming the women’s group in time for the March 8th holiday, the company is also organizing a week of events March 8-12 to showcase its commitment to women's equality, launch new initiatives and action, celebrate women's achievements, raise awareness, highlight gender parity gains and join in a global campaign called #ChoosetoChallenge. The campaign will include a virtual panel, discussing of ways to challenge BASF in reaching higher levels of inclusion.
“In our society, this is a time that we all need to choose to challenge. Recent events in the United States underscore that as a society we’re not as far along in the areas of diversity, and particularly inclusion, as we may have thought we were and as we need to be,” Rossman concluded. “At our company, it is a very good time to challenge ourselves to be accountable for higher standards of inclusion, bringing together men and women to hold up the mirror of authentic inclusion across our company and deliver positive and lasting change.”
To learn more about IWD and the #ChoosetoChallenge global campaign, click here.
Published March 4, 2021, by Anna Spiewak.
This article is part of an ongoing series about 'Women in Manufacturing' at BASF.
For media inquiries or to repurpose this article, please contact Lisa Brown.