Commitments to Promote the Participation of Women in Leadership Positions at BASF SE

The supervisory board of a publicly listed European stock corporation (SE) that is composed of the same number of shareholder and employee representatives must, according to section 17(2) of the SE Implementation Act, consist of at least 30% women and 30% men. Since the 2018 Annual Shareholders’ Meeting, the Supervisory Board of BASF SE comprises four women, of whom two are shareholder representatives and two are employee representatives, and eight men. The Supervisory Board’s composition meets the statutory requirements.

As a target figure for the Board of Executive Directors according to section 111(5) AktG, the Supervisory Board determined that for the target-attainment period under the German Act on Equal Participation of Men and Women in Management Positions (FüPoG I&II) from January 1, 2017, to December 31, 2021, the Board of Executive Directors of BASF SE should continue to have at least one female member. This represented 12.5% on the date the target was set (based on eight members of the Board of Executive Directors). Following the entry into force of the German Second Act on Equal Participation of Men and Women in Management Positions (FüPoG II), if the management board of a listed company consists of more than three persons, at least one woman and one man must be members of the management board (section 76(3a) AktG). There have been two female Board members since the appointment of Dr. Melanie Maas-Brunner to the Board of Executive Directors, effective as of February 1, 2021. Since Wayne T. Smith’s departure from the Board of Executive Directors on May 31, 2021, the proportion of women has been 33.3%.

The Board of Executive Directors also decided on new target figures for the proportion of women in the two management levels below the Board of Executive Directors of BASF SE: For the second target-attainment period that ended on December 31, 2021, these targets were 12.1% for the proportion of women in the management level directly below the Board, and 7.3% for the level below that. This corresponded to the status at the time these target figures were determined. At the end of the concluded target-attainment period, women made up 20.0% of the management level directly below the Board and 23.2% of the level below that. Both targets were therefore significantly exceeded. For the next target-attainment period from January 1, 2022, to December 31, 2026, the Board of Executive Directors resolved as targets the quotas achieved as of December 31, 2021: 20.0% for the proportion of women in the management level directly below the Board and 23.2% for the level below that.

BASF views the further development and promotion of women as a global duty independent of individual Group companies. It has committed to ambitious targets that were further raised in 2020. The new target is to increase the proportion of women in leadership worldwide to 30% by 2030. BASF will continue to work systematically on expanding the percentage of women in its leadership team. To achieve this, global measures will be implemented and enhanced continuously.

• For more information on women in leadership positions and inclusion of diversity, including promotion of women, see the chapter on Employees in the Management’s Report
• The November 2015 Employee Participation Agreement relevant to the composition of the Supervisory Board is available at basf.com/en/corporategovernance