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

A human resources policy that promotes a work-life balance is a major component of Volkswagen’s attractiveness as an employer; in particular, it contributes to greater gender equality. We are working continuously to develop family-friendly working time models and to increase the number of women in management positions. In line with the Gesetz für die gleichberechtigte Teilhabe von Frauen und Männern in Führungspositionen in der Privatwirtschaft und im öffentlichen Dienst (German Act on the Equal Participation of Women and Men in Leadership Positions in Private and Public Sectors), Volkswagen AG is aiming to have a 13.0% share of women at the first management level and 16.9% at the second management level by the end of 2021. As of December 31, 2020, the proportion of women in the active workforce at the first level of management was 10.9 (11.4)% and at the second level of management it was 16.7 (16.4)%.

In order to encourage women with great potential to advance within the Company, we have set targets relating to the development of the proportion of women in management for every Board of Management business area at Volkswagen AG. This approach is supported by many different measures ranging from cross-brand mentoring programs to a quota system for the management selection procedure and targets for the share of women among external hires.

In recent years, a large number of company regulations have also come into effect in the Group to make it easier for employees to balance the demands of work and home life and allow staff to arrange their own individual working model. These include flexible working hours, variable part-time work and shift models, leave of absence programs enabling employees to care for family members, the possibility to convert salary components into paid leave, childcare services that are associated with the company or are company-owned, and remote working.

At Volkswagen AG, which first entered into its works agreement for remote working back in 2016, around 40 thousand employees were making use of a more flexible working arrangement as of the end of the 2020 fiscal year.

The Covid-19 pandemic brought fundamental changes to the way we work and collaborate with one another. As in other companies, at Volkswagen the pandemic acted primarily as a catalyst for the breakthrough of digitalization in knowledge work: virtual communication and collaboration, and new formats of knowledge transfer and training, for example through podcasts or online tutorials, were set up and expanded at short notice. In addition, digital tools enabled us to remain operational throughout the measures introduced to contain the pandemic, such as business closures.