Systematic Career Sponsorship Leads to Measurable Results
#careersponsorship
#rolemodels
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At Schindler, we believe our workforce and leadership should reflect the diversity of the societies and customers we serve. In 2022, women held less than 18% of senior leadership positions globally, highlighting the opportunity to strengthen gender diversity across our leadership pipeline.
As a signatory of the UN Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs), we are committed to creating equal opportunities for development and advancement. To support our ambition of building a more diverse and inclusive leadership team, we set a clear target: at least 30% of senior leadership positions globally to be held by women by 2030.
To accelerate progress toward this goal, Schindler launched the Gender Inclusion Boost (GIB) program in May 2023.
GIB is a global, nomination-based sponsorship initiative designed to increase the visibility and advancement of high-potential female talent. The program connects participants with senior leaders who actively sponsor their development, advocate for opportunities, and help expand their professional networks. The sponsorship experience is complemented by executive sponsorship, personal coaching, peer group support, and keynote webinars. By combining leadership commitment with structured development, GIB helps strengthen the pipeline of talent ready to take on future leadership positions.
Since its launch, 130 female talents and 90 senior leader sponsors have participated in GIB, creating a strong global sponsorship network. By the end of 2025, 17% of participants had been promoted to senior leadership positions. During the same period, female representation in senior leadership increased from less than 18% in 2022 to 26% in 2025. These results demonstrate the impact of combining executive sponsorship, leadership accountability, and targeted talent development to build a stronger and more diverse leadership pipeline.
This Best Practice is part of the Gender Intelligence Report 2026.
Like many companies in the industrial sector, Schindler faced several interconnected challenges:
To achieve our long-term growth ambitions, we recognized the need to strengthen our leadership pipeline and create more opportunities for talented women to advance.
Our goals were clear:
The success of GIB is built on a comprehensive and business-driven approach:
This has led to a consistently growing pipeline of female talent and a significant increase in female senior leaders. The target is included in our group strategy framework, and progress is reported in the annual non-financial reports. Senior leader sponsors serve as ambassadors and form a strong leadership network to support all I&D initiatives. Best practice sharing sessions are organized for both sponsors and sponsees.
“I am not only investing but also gaining. It is an opportunity for me to learn from different perspectives and to seek feedback.”
Patrick Hess, Head of Europe North, Member of the Group Executive Committee
We have a dedicated I&D strategy with clear expectations for our local companies. This year’s key priorities also include equal pay, disability inclusion, and generational inclusion. We continue to excel in applying the “design for all” philosophy across our products, services, and work practices. We continue to monitor gender perception gaps within the company through our employee satisfaction survey, leadership effectiveness survey, and offboarding survey, and we follow up with reflections and actions based on the results.
Our employee resource groups – SING (Schindler Inclusion Network for Gender) – operate in various countries, and lactation rooms are required for major headquarters across the globe.
Inclusion & Diversity | Schindler Group
https://www.linkedin.com/company/schindler-group/life/inclusion-and-diversity
For more information about this Best Practice, reach out to the author:
Wensi Wang
Global Head Inclusion & Diversity
wensi.wang@schindler.com
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