Interview: Beste Arbeitgeber Frauen 2025
In unserem neuesten Interview erhalten Sie spannende Einblicke in die Arbeitswelt bei SC Johnson – einem Unternehmen, das sich durch starkes Engagement für Chancengleichheit und ein unterstützendes Arbeitsumfeld für Frauen auszeichnet.
Erfahren Sie, wie SC Johnson Vielfalt aktiv fördert, die Vereinbarkeit von Familie und Beruf ermöglicht und was das Unternehmen zu einem besonders attraktiven Arbeitgeber für Frauen macht.
In our latest interview, you’ll get fascinating insights into the work culture at SC Johnson – a company known for its strong commitment to equal opportunities and a supportive environment for women.
Discover how SC Johnson actively promotes diversity, enables work-life balance, and what makes it an especially attractive employer for women.
SC Johnson
Renata Bock, Senior Director, HR Europe
1. Why is your company an excellent workplace for women?
At SCJ we work to unlock the power of SC Johnson people by respecting, valuing, and recognizing individuals and teams. Our recent Great Place To Work® results by gender make us very proud:
- Average score of all statements 92% (vs 86% male)
- 95% of female employees state „Taking everything into account, I would say this is a great place to work“ (vs 92% male)
- 95% scored positively „People here are treated fairly regardless of their gender“
- 98% state „I can be myself around here“
These scores result from a holistic approach and truly inclusive working culture. Our concrete actions include:
Compensation: Annual reviews of salaries, promotions and merit increases by gender, ensuring performance is the key driver.
Benefits: Wide range including Employee Assistance Program with PME Familienservice for child-care, Eldercare and Counseling, plus cooperation with Lyra for additional support options.
Flexibility: 23% of female employees work part time. We offer 5 days paid leave on top of statutory 10 days of child sick days. 93% of female employees state they can take time off when necessary.
Development: 43% of people manager roles are held by women, exceeding external market trends. 88% of female employees state they are offered training or development opportunities.
I&D Education: Mandatory trainings like anti-harassment, unconscious bias, and inclusive leadership for all employees.
2. What specific programs has your company implemented to strengthen the career opportunities of women in management positions?
We are committed to minimizing barriers and ensuring every talent is treated with fairness and respect. We know that often women don’t dare to advance in their career, fearing they won’t be able to handle a leadership role and a family. We have put into action several initiatives:
RISE Program: We launched in 2021 a women leadership program called RISE: Respect, Inspire, Support and Engage, sponsored by the European Leadership Team. The program was established after we conducted interviews with employees to understand how we could better support them. As the program is extensive, only a limited number of 12-15 female talents are selected every year across all functions and countries in Europe, based on our succession planning. The program runs over one year and includes mentorship, 360 Feedback, Hogan Personality Assessment, Talent Career Card Preparation with career advice from senior leaders, Individual Development Plan, Self Confidence Training, Career talks where other female leaders share their journey and learnings, Leadership Trainings, Network within the organization and creating a women community. The program is a huge success as it tackles common hurdles women face when they progress in their careers. With sponsors in the European Leadership Team, these talented women have the opportunity to develop their full potential.
Annual Performance and Succession Cycles: We proactively address unconscious bias in performance discussions. For talents with potential for senior roles who lack confidence, we match them with mentors. We define career advocates to increase visibility and provide support.
LEAD Network Partnership: We are gold partners of this non-profit organization committed to advancing women in Consumer Goods and Retail. The partnership includes Inclusive Leadership Trainings and mentorship programs.
Lead Champion Network: Any employee can join to drive initiatives toward gender balance, organizing Lunch & Learn sessions and education about gender-related topics.
Gender-neutral Parental Leave Policy: Launched in 2022, providing pre-natal support, extended parental leave, and post-natal return to work support.
3. How does your company organize the re-entry of women after parental leave?
During parental leave, managers, HR and mothers are in regular contact, providing the sense of belonging and connection to women and keeping them informed of news and important changes. Before returning from leave, the employee, manager and HR discuss the return, the current organizational set up, any changes in scope or relevant information to ensure the employee is set to succeed upon return.
Additionally, the European parental leave policy adds additional support on top of the local statutory benefits:
- Mothers can request to have their working hours adjusted i.e. starting later or finishing earlier to accommodate personal circumstances after the child is born and up till the child is 1 year old.
- Mothers are permitted to apply for 1 additional work from home day per week up until the child is 1 year old.
- In order to better accommodate breastfeeding, mothers have the option to attend business meetings virtually where travel is required. This is valid for the first 12 months following the birth of the child. The business is expected to make arrangements for virtual participation at such events.
- The salary of women returning from parental leave is adjusted to include any merit increases missed due to the parental leave. This ensures there are no compensation gaps driven by a longer leave period.
Another initiative taken by many women returning from leave is the support of a “transition mentor”: upon request, returning mothers have the opportunity to have a mentor/buddy appointed to ensure a smooth transition back into the workplace. The mentors are experienced mothers that can provide ideas and guidance about different motherhood topics.
As already mentioned before, our Employee Assistance Program in Germany offers special support and programs to returning women and their families, ranging from counseling to daycare and vacation care.
Finally, part time work is offered to all women upon returning from parental leave. Also women with the need to care for parents have the possibility to reduce their working hours to better accommodate the family needs.
4. How does your company deal with unconscious bias in recruiting and promotions?
At SCJ, we aim to attract and hire the best candidates, regardless of gender or background, to build an inclusive and equitable workplace. We use data to monitor diversity trends but focus on merit during recruitment to prevent bias. Actions that safeguard un-biased recruitments:
- All individuals involved in the recruitment process must complete our comprehensive ‘Interview Expectations’ training, refreshed every three years. This training addresses unconscious biases among other things.
- Our Talent Acquisition coordination team ensures diverse hiring panels are in place. The final recruitment decision is based on the feedback from all panelists.
- Our Talent Acquisition Centre of Excellence tracks key metrics, stays updated on industry best practices, and brings external insights in-house. We conduct candidate experience surveys to gain valuable feedback and continually enhance our hiring process.
When it comes to promotions, we rely on the following actions:
- Our strong annual Management and Succession Process identifies potential successors to all key roles in the company. These plans are discussed by HR and Local and European leaders, ensuring that there is no bias, favoritism or politics. Succession is based on performance and potential, and actions are defined to support and accelerate the career progression of our employees.
- For roles below Management, promotions can happen in two situations:
- Someone has an enlarged scope or additional responsibilities that justify a promotion: in this case, the manager, function head and HR submit a request to the Rewards Team, who will serve as a gate keeper to ensure the promotion is justified and fair.
- A position is vacant and an internal recruitment is triggered, offering the possibility to anyone in the organization to apply. The internal recruitment follows the same process mentioned above for external recruitments, guaranteeing a fair and unbiased selection process.
5. What measures has your company established to promote women's health?
We offer a wide range of benefits, and physical and mental health-being options are a large part of them, especially for women. We are proud that 95% of women at SCJ agree that “This is a psychologically and emotionally healthy place to work” and 95% state that “People are supported by helpful measures in promoting health”.
Mental Health
- One of our pillars to support mental health are our Employee Assistance Programs. Both PME and Lyra offer a variety of counselling and workshops, that address mental health challenges.
- Sabbatical: More and more we recognize that after so many years working, women have an interest in making a pause and taking time for the family or for themselves. Our sabbatical benefit offers the opportunity for up to 12 months of leave.
Physical Health
- We have been cooperating in Germany with Detox Rebels for many years. During workshops and keynotes with health specialists, employees have a chance to learn about for instance sleep, breathing, blood sugar or dealing with stress, to name a few.
- Personal Trainer & Gym: we have a gym in the office that can be used from 07 am until 7pm. A personal trainer comes once a week to the office and offers a round training program that fits all age groups.
- Inclusion & Diversity events: critical topics for women like menopause and breast cancer are discussed in annual events like International Women’s Day, when women can exchange experiences and acquire information.