Equality and Diversity

Globally, more than 51,000 people (FTEs) work for the voestalpine Group. Each and every personality is valuable and must be respected for their individual strengths and skills. The fact that voestalpine’s then CEO signed the company’s “Diversity Charter” in February 2018 underscores the Group’s approach to both diversity and equal treatment. voestalpine is committed to respecting all people with whom it has a relationship (employees, customers, business partners)—irrespective of gender, skin color, nationality, ethnicity, religion or worldview, disability, age, sexual orientation, and identity. This commitment and corresponding actions create a climate of acceptance and mutual trust. As laid out in the chapter on “Respect and Integrity” of the voestalpine Code of Conduct, the Group does not tolerate any discrimination, whatever form it may take.

Gender-sensitive language at voestalpine

voestalpine fundamentally approaches all people in an open and respectful manner. As we all know, language creates images in people’s minds; voestalpine underscores its attitude by using gender-sensitive language. The aim is to use gender-appropriate greetings and wording to address all genders equally in the future—in communications with each other, in communications with business partners as well as in all of the Group’s internal and external media communications. In doing so, voestalpine also emphasizes its working methods, its orientation toward diversity, and its view of humanity.

To ensure that this is implemented as uniformly as possible across the board, in the business year 2022/23 the company prepared a “Gender-Sensitive Language” guideline that contains mandatory standards and practical advice. This guideline also offers recommendations as to visuals and gender issues in spoken language. In German, four options are available for uncomplicated, elegant, and readable “gendering”:

1. Rephrasing
2. Using neutral wording
3. Using the [German] “gender colon,” and
4. Pairing gender designations.

While the Gender-Sensitive Language guideline provides details on voestalpine’s gender-appropriate communications in German, the Group has adopted the principle that all languages must be used in gender-appropriate ways as best as possible— specifically, both internally and in external communications as well as in the context of person-to-person collaboration.

Persons with disabilities

In Austria, companies with more than 25 employees are required to make jobs available for people with disabilities. As of March 31, 2023, a total of 577 voestalpine employees in Austria reported that they were subject to the relevant “beneficiary” classification under the Austrian Disability Employment Act (Behinderteneinstellungsgesetz). For reasons related to data privacy, outside of Austria no information is collected on employees’ potential disabilities. It goes without saying that voestalpine fulfills all applicable statutory requirements regarding the employment and integration of disabled individuals that may apply at any given location. A range of measures ensures, furthermore, that everybody within the Group engages in mutually respectful conduct. voestalpine also supports integration measures outside of the Group’s purview.

Women at voestalpine

It is voestalpine’s stated goal to increase the percentage of women on all levels—from apprentices to executives—and it is fleshed out in the company’s Sustainability Strategy:

“We create the general framework for equal opportunity and aim to raise the percentage of women in technical fields and/or among technical apprentices by 2025. We help to make mathematics, informatics, natural sciences, and technology (MINT) more attractive for women and seek to increase the percentage of women in both job applications and employment.” (In the English-speaking world, MINT is known as “science, technology, engineering, and mathematics” – STEM.)

voestalpine ensures through measures adapted to individual companies and regional circumstances that potential female applicants are interested in the company and that female employees are given good development opportunities.

Female empowerment as a strategic sphere of action

Several initiatives pertaining to female empowerment have been launched as part of this strategic sphere of action. A dedicated website was set up in voestalpine’s intranet. It contains links to other websites, portraits, general information specific to women, etc. In the future, it will also publish a quarterly “Female Empowerment Newsletter.”

The mandatory e-learning course, “Sexual Harassment at the Workplace,” is currently being adapted to the statutory framework and requirements in Germany and Switzerland and will be rolled out in these countries in the current business year 2023/24.

As already in the previous business year, the nomination process for the internal leadership development “value:program” required a female quota of more than 20%; the quota for the business year 2023/24 is just under 30%.

In addition, the managers of all HR development programs were requested to firmly establish issues of diversity and, particularly, female empowerment in their individual programs—e.g., by raising the number of female coaches as well as establishing special training geared to women and related substantive matters.

As of the annual reporting date (March 31, 2023), women accounted for 15.7% of all employees in the voestalpine Group. The percentage of female workers among wage employees was 6.7%; among salaried employees it was 29.7%. A total of 13.6% of all executives (including salaried employees in HR as well as forepersons, but excluding members of the Management Board) were women.

There was a slight increase in the number of women in most of these categories. The percentage of women among apprentices completing non-technical training is especially high: Fully 50.2% of all individuals in the category, “Apprentices (Other),” were female.

Salaried employee structure by gender

In each case as of the March 31 reporting date

Wage employee structure by gender

In each case as of the March 31 reporting date

Age structure of employees

As of the annual reporting date (March 31, 2023), the average age of employees in the Group was 41.7 years. The following table shows the average age by employment contract and gender.

Salaried employee structure by age group

In each case as of the March 31 reporting date

Wage employee structure by age group

In each case as of the March 31 reporting date