Diversity & Inclusion at Mercedes-Benz

For a Culture of Appreciation and Respect.

Our conviction: People are more motivated, productive and satisfied when they can bring their whole self to work. This is why at Mercedes-Benz we create and strongly promote equal opportunities at work. We foster a culture of appreciation and respect in which age, ethnic origin and nationality, gender and gender identity, physical and mental abilities, religion and belief, sexual orientation as well as social origin play no part.

Diversity helps us to find new perspectives and ideas, which allows for creativity and innovation to thrive. For us, inclusion means consciously appreciating our similarities and differences.

Our goal for inclusion is to create an environment where every employee is included and treated equally and with fairness.

Our Mission Statement

Alongside sustainability and integrity, diversity forms the foundation of Mercedes-Benz's sustainable business strategy. All members of the Board of Management support the Mercedes-Benz Diversity Mission Statement and are committed to implementing the principles set out in it:

Our strategic fields of action

Our diversity & inclusion approach takes into account the seven diversity dimensions of the Diversity Charter, of which Mercedes-Benz is a founding member and first signatory. The strategic focus is on three fields of action:

Internationality: Around the world, Mercedes-Benz employs people from around 142 nations. We promote internationality and a global mindset to bring together different perspectives at all hierarchical levels.

Advancement of women: We are continuing on our path towards more equal opportunities for women and men, and have formulated clear ambitions to increase the proportion of women in senior management positions by 2030.

Inclusion: We place an emphasis on an inclusive work environment where all employees have equal opportunities and value the uniqueness of each team member. This explicitly applies with respect to all aspects of diversity.

Sabine Kohleisen, member of the Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz Group AG responsible for Human Relations and Labor Director on the occasion of the 10th Diversity Day at Mercedes-Benz:

This article was last updated in February 2024.

External partnerships and commitments

As a founding member and first signatory of the Charter of Diversity we are working together with other companies to bring the debate on diversity management in Germany forward.

Mercedes-Benz is part of the first global initiative specifically addressing the issue of promoting and empowering women in business: The UN Women’s Empowerment Principles. They include seven guidelines on equality for women. By signing, Mercedes-Benz has committed itself to integrating the principles into the company's practice.

Our accession to the initiative of the United Nations for combating discrimination against homosexuals, bisexuals, transgenders and intersexuals is a sign for the rights of the LGBTI+ Community.

With the signing of the HIV Declaration of the German AIDS Federation, we are taking a strong stand for respectful and non-discriminatory treatment of HIV-positive persons.

The Valuable 500 is a global initiative putting disability inclusion on the business agenda. Mercedes-Benz is one of 500 companies that are taking part in the initiative and thus making concrete commitments.