Goal 5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
In 2021, we activated a multi-year diversity, equity and inclusion plan to foster a more inclusive workplace, increase diverse representation and ensure our human resources programs are fair, equitable and effectively communicated to employees. Although the gender gap is improving, women in leadership positions in the chemical sector remains low. LyondellBasell aims to increase the number of women in senior leadership roles globally by 50% in the next five years and achieve gender parity in these roles by 2032. To achieve this, we launched new initiatives to attract and advance diverse talent such as expanding our external candidate pool; improving diversity of interview panels; increasing internal job posting transparency; enhancing our mentoring program; and improving movement of talent within our organization to sharpen and build skills.
As part of our commitment to ensure fairness in our pay practices and performance review process, we engaged a third-party expert to conduct our first pay equity review and to evaluate our performance review practices. Our intention is to embed these reviews in our annual processes going forward. For our pay equity review, we strive to achieve pay parity. In 2021, the pay equity review compared pay for like jobs, specifically focused on base pay for gender (globally) and ethnicity (U.S. only). The review reflected that pay for women and men on a global basis is generally administered fairly. It also found that, in the U.S., pay for employees in underrepresented groups is generally administered fairly when compared with those in non-underrepresented populations. We continue to conduct detailed analyses to identify and address any pay inequities. The performance review evaluation compared performance rankings for gender (globally) and ethnicity (U.S. only). The review did not have any significant findings and confirmed that performance appraisals are generally administered fairly.
We also foster inclusion and professional and personal growth through our employee networks. The LYB Inspiring Females Together (LIFT) employee network provides the opportunity to discuss and address women’s issues and creates opportunities for women to connect, develop and mentor. Employee Networks are open to all employees, including colleagues who do not share the identity of a particular network but are supporters and advocates for that community.