Bayer Diversity Not

I was just looking through Bayer's newly published CSR Report and couldn't resist mentioning this, which jumped right out of the page (well, screen) and hit me in the nose (I can think of worst places to get hit).

They say a picture is worth  ...well, you  know ... so here it is:

Yes folks, this is the Bayer Board for Sustainable Development. What do you notice ? Lipstick? Plucked eyebrows ? A little rouge around the cheekbones ? Not a chance. (Well, seems not). This entire 13-strong weak SUSTAINABLE NOT diversity-challenged team EXCLUDES women. Not even a little token woman to make the tea and serve the Chunky Monkey. Not even one of them that LOOKS LIKE a woman.  

Bayer report that "Fostering the employment of women is one of the central elements of our diversity strategy. At the end of 2009, the proportion of women in the workforce worldwide was around 35 percent. The percentage of female managers is rising steadily. In Germany, it is currently 24 percent across all managerial grades and nearly 30 percent at the junior management level, which is the entry level for future managers.Moreover, the proportion is rising. At the most senior management level, the Group Leadership Circle, the proportion of women Group-wide is 5.5 percent."

Some diversity strategy. It stops at the glass ceiling, apparently.  Bad, Bayer. Still, I suppose that's what you get when you ask for transparency. At least they didnt use Photoshop to make them all look female.

elaine cohen is a CSR consultant and Sustainability Reporting Expert, co-CEO of Beyond Business, a social and environmental consulting and reporting firm. Visit our website at www.b-yond.biz/en