Participation of women and men in executive positions

A high degree of inclusion and diversity in the composition of the governance bodies and the workforce is one of Fresenius Medical Care's core objectives and is in the interest of the Company because it creates an integrative working environment and lays the foundation for personal and corporate success. Diversity at Fresenius Medical Care is defined in a broad way, including – but not limited to – age, gender, nationality, cultural and ethnical origin, sexual orientation, disability, educational background, and work experience. The goal of inclusion and diversity are the integration of differing perspectives and various aspects in the cooperation and decision-making in order to increase the understanding for the manifold requirements on a globally active company with heterogeneous groups of customers. Inclusion and diversity are an integral part of the Code of Conduct at Fresenius Medical Care.

Based on this, a diversity concept for the composition of the Management Board of the General Partner and the Supervisory Board of the Company exists that reflects this understanding and is part of the staffing processes. The individual qualification, e.g. expertise as well as skills and experience, continues to be the core selection criterion for the proposals to the General Meeting for the election of new members to the Supervisory Board; diversity aspects are considered to ensure a comprehensive and balanced decision process. For preparation of any nomination proposal, the respective competent governance body or the competent committee, as the case may be, thoroughly evaluates the current composition of the governance body to be filled and carefully analyzes each potential candidate’s profile with regard to the diversity criteria.

Further diversity is actively managed in senior management levels below the Management Board. To this end, diversity aspects such as gender are particularly taken into account in the evaluation of the "talent pipelines". Additional reports, for example on the number and share of female junior talents in talent evaluation and the succession planning process, support the focus on diversity in development planning and the preparation for filling vacancies. This serves to strengthen the pursued diversity concept and to identify suitable talents at an early stage.

The Supervisory Board of FMC AG & Co. KGaA is obliged to define targets for the representation of female members in the Supervisory Board as well as an implementation period and to report on the defined targets and their achievement during the relevant reference period or in the event of a failure to meet these targets, on the reasons for this, as part of the declaration on corporate governance. The definition of targets for the composition of the Management Board is for companies which, like Fresenius Medical Care, are organized in the legal form of a partnership limited by shares, is by contrast expressly not required. Likewise, also the Supervisory Board of Fresenius Medical Care Management AG is not required to define targets for the Management Board, because Fresenius Medical Care Management AG is not in the scope of the relevant legal provisions. With two of in total eight members of the Management Board in the year under review being female, the share of women in the Management Board of Fresenius Management AG amounted to 25% in the year under review.

The Supervisory Board of FMC AG & Co. KGaA has resolved on May 10, 2017 to set the target for the representation of female Supervisory Board members at 30% and has set an implementation period ending on May 9, 2022. With two female members (33%), the composition of the Supervisory Board in the year under review was in line with this target.

Pursuant to the Act on Equal Participation of Women and Men in Leadership Positions, the Management Board is obliged to determine targets for female representation in the two top management levels below the Management Board as well as an appropriate implementation period. In a first step, the Management Board on September 28, 2015, had resolved to define the two top management levels below the Management Board in relation to the participation of executives in the group-wide Long-Term Incentive Program (“LTIP”). In a second step, the Management Board resolved on January 13, 2016 upon targets for female representation for the two top management levels below the Management Board and upon the implementation period to end on December 31, 2020. Notwithstanding the determination of these two management levels, the best indicator for Fresenius Medical Care for women holding management positions worldwide is the total number of participants in the group-wide LTIP. Compared with 2018, the share of women in these management positions slightly increased and amounted to around 34.3% at the end of the year under review (2019: 34%).

The first management level included all managers worldwide who directly report to a member of the Management Board and participate in the LTIP. The respective target that was to be achieved by end of the implementation period on December 31, 2020 is 18.8%. The share of female executives as of December 31, 2020 was 21.5% (2019: 23.0%). Hence, the target has been surpassed by the Company.

The second management level included all managers worldwide who directly report to a management executive of the first management level and participate in the LTIP. The respective target that was to be achieved by end of the implementation period on December 31, 2020 is 28.2%. The share of female managers as of December 31, 2020 was 31% (2019: 29.7%). The defined target, thus, has also been surpassed for this management level.

In the year under review, the Management Board has determined new targets for female representation in the two top management levels below the Management Board and the respective new implementation periods. In this context, the definition of the two management levels below the Board of Management for which targets are to be set has also been adjusted. The positions of the first and second management levels are now determined on the basis of a global job evaluation system considering criteria such as impact and contribution of the position as well as required skills relating to communication, innovation and knowledge. The target figure for the first management level to be achieved by the end of the implementation period on December 31, 2025 has been increased compared with the previous target figure and is now 22%. At the end of the year under review, 18.3% of managers in this first management level were female. The target figure for the second management level to be achieved by the end of the implementation period on December 31, 2025 has also been increased compared with the previous target figure and is now 32%. At the end of the year under review, 28.3% of managers in this second management level were female.

Overall, the recruiting and staffing practice of Fresenius Medical Care as well as the selection decisions regarding the hiring and promotion to top management levels will also in the future be taken with a focus on the specific qualifications of the individual. For this reason, the Management Board will select candidates for the top management of Fresenius Medical Care according to the candidate’s excellence and suitability for the specific role and function in such management positions, regardless of their race, gender or other non-performance related attributes. However, the number and proportion of female Supervisory Board members and Management Board members, the continuous achievement and increase of our diversity targets as well as the programmatic support within the sustainability efforts demonstrate the priority of diversity for Fresenius Medical Care.