Increasing attractiveness as an employer and target-group-specific development programs

A family-friendly human resources policy is a major component of Volkswagen’s appeal as an employer and makes an important contribution to achieving greater gender equality. We are therefore working continuously to develop family-friendly working-hour models and to further increase the proportion of women in management positions. In line with German law on the equal participation of women and men in leadership positions, Volkswagen AG is aiming to have a 13.0% proportion of women at the first management level and 16.9% at the second management level by the end of 2021. As of December 31, 2017, the proportion of women in the active workforce at the first level of management was 10.4 (9.8)% and at the second level of management it was 14.0 (13.5)%.

Targets have been set for every board-level division in the company to encourage women with high potential in their decision to aim for a career in management in the Company. This approach is supported by many different measures including the cross-brand mentoring programs “Mentoring Program Management”, “Compass” and the “Career with Children” project.

A large number of company regulations have come into effect at the Volkswagen Group in recent years to improve balancing the demands of work and home life and to allow for individual arrangements. These include flexible working hours, variable part-time work and shift models, leave of absence programs enabling employees to care for close family members, as well as childcare facilities that are close by and/or company-owned, and mobile working.

At Volkswagen AG, which had entered into its works agreement for mobile working in 2016, more than 11,800 employees made use of this flexible working arrangement as of the end of the reporting period.