Equal opportunity
Fairness pays

Content

We promote equal opportunity worldwide. Ultimately, we all benefit from it: People treat each other with greater respect. And their expertise gets to where it can do the most good. We place a special focus on making more of the potential a highly educated and well trained generation of women offers. We have already achieved important milestones. But for us, that is not enough. Our target is clear: more women on all hierarchical levels.

 

International studies show that the most successful form of cooperation is in mixed teams. Such teams generate a greater number of innovations and better solutions, and display greater creativity – and, as a result, help deliver measurably increased company profits. This is the crucial point: diversity is part of our business success. At the present time, however, the picture at Bosch is rather different: the proportion of women in management positions worldwide currently stands at just arround 11.5 percent. Over the next few years, Bosch will therefore consciously focus on attracting and retaining qualified women professionals and on systematically promoting female associates. In order to achieve this, we need the right work culture, one that includes flexible working hours instead of a rigid 'culture of presence' and one that offers a better balance between family and career – for both men and women.

For what reason is Diversity such an important topic for any business?

Teams with a mix of men and women, multiple generations, with many different lifestyles and from a wide range of cultures and origins, reflect the reality of society today. Diversity is therefore a key element of our company’s values and strategic direction.

  • That’s why diversity is defined within our leitmotif "We are Bosch" as an important asset and factor of success.
  • That’s why the Bosch Diversity Initiative is specifically designed to further extend the diversity and variety that enriches our company.
  • And that’s why it is vital for every Bosch associate to get involved – because greater diversity means greater success.
 

Examples of how we promote equal opportunity

Mentoring programs for women

We arrange for executive mentors to guide and advise women specialists and executives – in-house and in collaboration with other reputable companies (cross-company mentoring).

 

Our Business Women’s Program

This special training program is designed to help women specialists and executives get ahead, with skills such as better negotiation strategies or career planning. The “Gender Talk” seminar, open to men and women, deals with gender-specific topics such as the different ways of doing business, behavior within teams and life plans. This is how we are strengthening the foundations for positive, effective collaboration between men and women on a lasting basis.

Girls’ Day

We want more girls to choose technical careers. In order to spark their interest at an early age, we reach out and invite them to Girls’ Day each year. They can experience technology first-hand with such opportunities as pitching in at our training workshop.