Diversity is an enormous strength that OMV actively leverages to create business value. OMV strongly believes that culturally diverse teams are more creative, resourceful, and knowledgeable, and that they generate broader perspectives, ideas, and options. Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I), therefore, have a strong impact on people and teams, improving engagement and job satisfaction, and directly contributing to the Group’s profitability and sustainability.
DE&I has become an integral part of our sustainability commitments, and OMV Group is developing with our dedicated employee resources groups and cross workstream activities. Together, we embrace DE&I and contribute to an inclusive work environment and sense of belonging. The workstreams established for this purpose focus on accessibility, gender, generations, LGBTQ+, parenting/caregiving, and, since 2024, intercultural inclusion, thus ensuring holistic representation for all. The DE&I Ambassadors were introduced in 2024. They facilitate understanding of DE&I within the organization, generate ideas to increase the sense of belonging, and serve as multipliers for DE&I initiatives. This year’s annual Pulse Check contained a new question on inclusion, and at the OMV Group, 64% of respondents agreed that we strive to include and fully utilize the diverse talents, experiences, and backgrounds of all employees.
As part of our new brand strategy, DE&I is now integrated with new icons and colors. The newly launched DE&I Playbook provides employees and line managers with resources to understand and promote the main components of an inclusive work environment, while our Learning Hub offers opportunities to deepen knowledge and support a sense of belonging among employees. Diversity has been incorporated into all leadership development programs and embedded into the OMV People & Culture Strategy.
To enhance communication and knowledge-sharing related to DE&I initiatives, we updated our DE&I SharePoint site. The platform serves as a central hub for employees to access resources such as e-learning modules on DE&I, recordings of past events and knowledge-sharing sessions, stay informed about ongoing initiatives of each DE&I stream, and actively participate in fostering an inclusive workplace.
The SpeakUp Channel was introduced in 2024, providing a mechanism through which any serious work-related misconduct or unlawful behavior related to OMV and OMV Petrom can be reported, including the option to report anonymously. Reporting concerns helps us maintain a workplace based on trust, respect, and integrity.
OMV is committed to supporting women’s advancement to managerial positions. The proportion of women in the Group as a whole is 25.5% (2023: 27.7%). The aim is to increase the proportion of women in management roles from 23.7%Advanced & Executive career levels (2023: 24.4%) to 25% by 2025, and to 30% by 2030, through a number of initiatives such as mentoring, succession planning, specific training, and those that promote a healthy work-life balance. In OMV’s leadership development programs, the proportion of women was 45.6% (2023: 42.8%). In OMV’s Upstream integrated graduate development program for technical skill pools, the proportion of women was 36%Without guests in 2024 (2023: 27%), and in the Fuels & Feedstock Fresh Graduate Program, it was 41%Including 21 OMV Petrom employees who are considered as externals. OMV especially supports the recruitment and development of women in technical positions.
Our Accessibility workstream raised awareness by launching accessibility-focused DE&I training sessions for specific target groups, with training and guides being key to understanding the needs of people with disabilities. Our Executive Board has approved new ESRS-compliant accessibility targets to create an inclusive work environment, aiming to increase the percentage of employees with disabilities in eligible OMV entities by 2050.
Throughout 2024, several events were organized to enhance the awareness of our employees and the ambition to focus on our DE&I goals. The OMV Group organized an International Women’s Week, Pride Month celebrations, an intergenerational event, and the Positively Purple event during activities to promote accessibility. Moreover, OMV continued the New Parents Program and the OMV Ability school project, where teenagers with disabilities joined the Company for a week. Another highlight of the year was the LGBTQ+ Business Forum, which OMV hosted in collaboration with Pride Biz AT, promoting inclusion and belonging in the corporate world.
The Executive Board and Supervisory Board consider the described measures and programs for fostering the diversity of the workforce as a key factor in strengthening the diversity of the internal pool of Executive Board succession candidates. The Presidential and Nomination Committee concerns itself regularly with the identification and development of high-potential employees. In addition to internal succession planning, the Supervisory Board also makes use of external recruitments in order to best fill open Executive Board positions. When selecting Executive Board members – be it internally or externally – special attention is paid to the balance of gender, age, and international experience, in addition to professional skills.
As of December 31, 2024, the Executive Board members of OMV Aktiengesellschaft – one woman and four men of three different nationalities, with extensive international management experience – were between 50 and 59 years old.
With regard to the election of Supervisory Board members, the selection of potential candidates is based on various criteria, particularly the candidates’ professional skills, personal integrity, independence, and impartiality. In addition, diversity aspects such as the representation of both genders, balanced age distribution, industry, and technical expertise, and internationality of members is taken into consideration.
On December 31, 2024, the Supervisory Board of OMV included five women, corresponding to a share of 36%. In line with the strategic orientation of the Company, particular focus will be given to further strengthening industry-specific expertise and the internationality of the Supervisory Board. With members aged between 39 and 67, the Supervisory Board’s age structure is balanced.