As a global company, Merck endeavors to achieve a good balance between different cultures and nationalities, between different age groups, as well as between male and female employees. We are convinced that workforce diversity promotes innovation and team performance, contributing to the company’s entrepreneurial success. In order to sustainably anchor this diversity, we want to further develop existing measures.
Ratio of men and women
Women currently make up 42% of the workforce. The ratio of female to male employees varies among individual business areas, functions and regions. In Pharmaceuticals 46%, in Group functions 42%, and in Chemicals 37% of all employees are female. In North America, 46% of all employees are female, in Europe 45%, in Emerging Markets 37%, and in Rest of World likewise 37%. Women make up 51% of the workforce in research and development, which is the highest percentage, followed by 50% in administration. The lowest percentages of women are in production (34%) and the infrastructure units (30%). Merck has set itself the goal of increasing the percentage of female employees wherever they are underrepresented.
Internationality
72% of the Merck workforce is employed outside of Germany; 26% of all employees are German citizens. One of our basic principles is to hire and develop employees from the countries in which we operate.
Age structure
Demographic change, and the associated aging of the population, is not equally apparent in all countries in which we operate. However, we must adapt to it, particularly in Germany, in some other EU countries, and in the United States. In these countries, the average age of our employees exceeds 40 – and we assume that this figure will increase further. In Europe, we are using various programs to address these demographic challenges. These include adapting workplaces to the needs of older employees and establishing a health management program to maintain their ability to perform their jobs.
Management positions
Balanced diversity among executive staff enhances career advancement opportunities for talented employees. At the same time, it also enables the company to leverage a broad base of experience and allows for more differentiated entrepreneurial decision-making.
The percentage of women in management positions, meaning Global Grade 14 and higher, is currently 24% calculated across the entire company. The percentage is higher at the legal entities in the countries than at corporate headquarters in Darmstadt; it is also higher in Pharmaceuticals than in Chemicals. The ratio of women in management positions is lower in certain Group functions, such as IT for example. We set ourselves a global objective of increasing the percentage of women in management positions to 25% to 30% by 2016. In order to attain this goal, various HR measures and global management training programs are used to address this topic and raise awareness among executive staff. Internal and external recruitment staff have been set the goal of focusing more on diversity when selecting candidates. Greater importance is also being given to the topic when identifying talented employees as well. In addition, local measures and offers are being expanded in order to support work-life balance.
61% of all management positions (Global Grade 14 and higher) are held by persons of non-German nationality – altogether 57 different nationalities are represented in such positions. The internationality of our management levels reflects the global nature of our business activities.