BASF sets global goals for diversity in leadership team

-- Proportion of women in leadership to match percentage of women in BASF's workforce by 2021

-- Continued focus on international experience of senior executives

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Sep 30, 2015, 12:42 ET

FLORHAM PARK, N.J., Sept. 30, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- BASF has set itself global goals for the promotion of diversity in its management team. By 2021, the company aims to raise the overall proportion of women in positions with disciplinary leadership responsibilities from today's 19% to 22%–24% globally, a share that reflects the percentage of women in BASF's global workforce.

In light of the relatively low turnover rate in the BASF Group's leadership team, this is an ambitious goal. Around the world, BASF also wants to further increase the number of senior executives from countries other than Germany. This proportion was at 34% at the end of 2014. Furthermore, BASF wants to maintain its number of senior executives with international experience at over 80%, a goal the company has already surpassed, achieving a proportion of 83% by the end of 2014.

With these goals, BASF is advancing its globally integrated approach to promoting diversity and developing its leaders. BASF has already been fostering different dimensions of diversity through a range of measures worldwide for over ten years.

"Our markets are becoming increasingly global in character. In order to better understand the diverse requirements of our customers around the world and develop solutions for them, we need to be an attractive employer for the best people in all markets. Our goals are an incentive for us to become even better in promoting diversity," says Dr. Kurt Bock, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of BASF SE.

The goals to promote greater balance in terms of gender and nationality in BASF's leadership team extend across BASF Group worldwide and levels of management as a whole. In other words, the goal for the percentage of women in leadership is not meant to be reflected in each individual country, company or management level; BASF will ensure compliance with national and local laws.

About BASF
BASF Corporation, headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, is the North American affiliate of BASF SE, Ludwigshafen, Germany. BASF has more than 17,000 employees in North America, and had sales of $20.6 billion in 2014. For more information about BASF's North American operations, visit www.basf.us.

At BASF, we create chemistry – and have been doing so for 150 years. Our portfolio ranges from chemicals, plastics, performance products and crop protection products to oil and gas. As the world's leading chemical company, we combine economic success with environmental protection and social responsibility. Through science and innovation, we enable our customers in nearly every industry to meet the current and future needs of society. Our products and solutions contribute to conserving resources, ensuring nutrition and improving quality of life. We have summed up this contribution in our corporate purpose: We create chemistry for a sustainable future. BASF had sales of over €74 billion in 2014 and around 113,000 employees as of the end of the year. Further information on BASF is available on the Internet at www.basf.com.

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