Diversity and equal opportunity

Management approach

Geberit supports diversity, offers all employees the same opportunities and strives towards finding the best candidate for every position. A strong emphasis is placed on the promotion of diversity and equal opportunities, and to creating an inclusive culture that enables all employees to develop their full potential in the company.

Impacts, risks and opportunities

With a non-discrimination approach that extends beyond the prevention and sanctioning of discrimination, Geberit contributes to the elimination of social and systemic inequalities. In this way, the company also strengthens its reputation, its employer brand and its corporate culture.

A heterogeneous workforce with a positive attitude towards diversity can increase employee motivation and retention and reduce employee turnover. Employee diversity also creates recruitment opportunities (internal and external). Furthermore, diverse teams can appropriately meet the needs of different customer groups and develop customised products and services for end users that can result in a competitive advantage. On the other hand, misconduct can weaken motivation and cause mental health challenges for employees. Most risks are related to higher costs. For example, creating inclusive workplaces comes with higher personnel costs.

Management system

The company is committed to diversity and equal opportunity – irrespective of gender, ethnic origin, skin colour, age, religion, nationality or other possible grounds for discrimination. This is ensured worldwide as part of the annual review of the Geberit Code of Conduct and is an integral part of the corporate culture.

Geberit pursues a fair and non-discriminatory employment practice. Recruitment, training courses and promotions depend on individual experience, as well as skills and potential regarding the requirements of the position in question. In order to ensure equal pay, the proven Korn Ferry Hay method for job evaluation and salary benchmarking is used. All positions are summarised in a Group-wide grading system. The resulting classifications form the basis for determining remuneration. In this way, gender-independent and fair salary structures are ensured.

Key figures and measures

Diversity of governance bodies and employees

At the end of 2024, Geberit employed 75% men and 25% women (previous year 76% and 24%). As is typical for the industry, the proportion of female employees varies depending on function. While this figure is around 45% in both Finance and Marketing, it is lower in Sales at around 25%. The reason for the lower proportion of female employees in Sales is the generally very low number of female plumbers, who are the main customers. The share of female plumbers in Switzerland, for example, is around 3%. The proportion of female employees in management positions was 20% (previous year 19%). The six-member Board of Directors has two female members.

In a representative survey carried out in 2022, a total of 74% of employees stated that the company has a diverse corporate culture in place. 66% of employees confirmed that their supervisors show an active engagement or commitment towards diversity. 64% confirmed the presence of discrimination-free surroundings at Geberit, while 66% confirmed that the same opportunities are offered to all, see figure:

In terms of the age structure of the workforce, the company also aims to have a good mixture of ages. At the end of 2024, 14% of the workforce was under 30 years of age, 41% between 30 and 45, and 45% over 45.

For key figures on diversity in terms of gender and age structure, see Tables of key figures > Social matters.

Targeted measures are implemented to increase the proportion of female employees in the workforce and in management. In order to increase the proportion of female employees in management, they are given preference if qualifications are equal. Moreover, qualified internal female candidates are actively encouraged to apply for management positions. At the same time, attempts are made to increase the pool of internal female candidates for management positions through systematic tracking of talented female employees. The internal development programmes GROW and LEAD are explicitly aimed at identifying talented men and women within the company, preparing them for their next career step and supporting them along their path to middle or senior management. In 2024, around 100 employees – thereof 30 women – took part in these programmes. Additionally, Geberit is involved in various initiatives and collaborations with institutions and education programmes in order to recruit more women from the STEM areas (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). For example, the company supports the Swiss educational initiative Smartfeld, where children, young people and school classes explore STEM subjects in a hands-on way and learn how they are applied in everyday life through workshops and courses. Since its launch in 2017, around 15,000 students have taken part in Smartfeld workshops and activities.

In addition to the goal of increasing the proportion of female employees in management positions, the general aim is to have heterogeneous teams reflecting a variety of perspectives, experiences and backgrounds. In order to improve the work-life balance across the entire company, support is given to employees who wish to work part time. In countries where part-time working models are in demand, vacancies are usually advertised with a workload of 80 to 100%. Job-sharing models are also offered. Mothers and fathers in Switzerland are entitled to parental leave that goes beyond the legal minimum.

The position of the Geberit Group as a responsible and attractive employer is to be further reinforced. Based on the aforementioned strategic review on the topic of diversity and equal opportunity, the company’s commitment towards an inclusive working environment has been reinforced across the Group. The defined key topics “Equal opportunity and the reconciliation of working, family and private life” should be further expanded with local measures in order to take country-specific regulations and perspectives into account. For example, maternity and paternity leave will be extended by four and two weeks respectively for all companies in Switzerland from 2025. Additionally, financial support for childcare during the school holidays will also be introduced. Group-wide key figures on diversity will also be defined from 2025 as part of personnel reporting and controlling.

Non-discrimination in the remuneration policy

The ratio of the annual remuneration paid to the highest-paid employee to the average annual remuneration of all employees (excluding the highest-paid employee) based on the average full-time equivalents (FTEs) was 57.6.

In the reporting year, the percentage increase in the annual remuneration of the highest-paid employee was 12.1 times higher than the average percentage salary increase for all employees (calculated on the basis of full-time equivalents, excluding the highest-paid employee).

Structured, regular surveys at the local Geberit Group companies confirm that there are no differences between the basic salaries of women and men. Additionally, an equal pay analysis carried out in 2021 at all Group companies in Switzerland confirmed that equal pay between female and male employees is upheld. These results were audited and confirmed by the certified auditors PwC.

Inclusion

Geberit sees the integration of disadvantaged people in the labour market as part of the company’s social commitment. An inclusive culture is cultivated in which jobs are created for people with disabilities. At the end of 2024, 255 (in FTE) of these inclusive jobs were located directly in the company, which corresponds to 2.3% of the total workforce. In addition, external workshops for people with disabilities are contracted for various assembly and packaging jobs. In the reporting year, the volume of work contracted to external partners was equivalent to 358 FTEs. In total, over 600 people with disabilities worked for the company, which corresponds to 5.3% of the entire workforce. For further information, see Social responsibility.

Cases of discrimination

According to the annual Group-wide survey of the Code of Conduct, there was one case of discrimination in the reporting year, which is under investigation. Four cases of sexual harassment were also reported. Two individuals were dismissed following internal investigations, and two others were issued with disciplinary warnings. No incidents of bullying were reported.