Ratio of basic salary and remuneration of women to men

Equal pay for both men and women is a matter of course for us. The amount of remuneration is determined exclusively by the employee’s qualification and value contribution to the company.

Symrise pays its employees on the basis of collective wage agreements concluded with the respective labor unions. Each initial classification or later reclassification is subject to review by the works council. Through this double-checking, we make sure that gender plays no role in determining remuneration. In 2019, we carried out a gender-specific analysis of the wages for male and female employees at our major sites. The example of our site in Germany, which has the most employees, shows that the average remuneration of women does not significantly deviate from the average remuneration of men (statistically insignificant differences of < 2 %). As part of this analysis, we adjusted the results to account for the personal decision of each employee working part time. The remaining insignificant differences result from production-specific components of remuneration such as hardship allowances or activity-related wages such as foremen’s or master craftsmen’s allowances, or are prescribed by the various remuneration levels specified by wage agreements for commercial or technical professions. In 2019, we received two inquiries from female employees to review their remuneration under the German Transparency in Wage Structures Act. So far, no case has shown gender-specific discrimination.

As a result, there are no indications of inequitable treatment on a gender-specific basis. Differences in remuneration between men and women may result from the type of activity, such as shift work with corresponding shift remuneration. For example, at Symrise in Germany, currently only four women work in rotating shift operations with regular evening shifts and corresponding shift remuneration. Otherwise, only men work in these areas and therefore receive higher remuneration as a result of shift bonuses as the wage agreement base pay. In addition, one must always take into account the high percentage of women in part-time work, which gives rise to the impression that women earn less overall.