Diversity and Inclusion

At Ecolab, we believe the best teams are diverse and inclusive. Creating workplaces where every associate can grow and thrive is central to our strategic growth priorities and overarching focus on attracting, retaining and growing talent.

We are proud of the progress we have made in ensuring a diverse and inclusive workplace. Building on momentum created by our signing of the CEO Action Pledge for Diversity and Inclusion in 2017 and the formation of our Executive D&I Council – charged with developing and overseeing our diversity and inclusion strategy – we made headway with programs and initiatives that educated associates, demonstrated thought leadership and raised awareness of our commitment.

Statement on Diversity & Inclusion

Building diverse teams

In all our talent markets, we’ve worked to set representation targets based on labor force availability. In the U.S., we rely on census data to inform our targets for full representation in all job categories. Here are few areas where we’re seeing impact:

The U.S. Talent Acquisition team worked with the Society of Women Engineers, Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, National Society of Black Engineers and Out 4 Undergrad, and initiated a campus presence with four Historically Black Colleges and Universities. The team also partnered with Orion Talent to reach military veterans, and with Fairygodboss.com, the largest online career community for women in the U.S.

In Brazil we focused on hiring qualified individuals with disabilities and created a customized onboarding and communications program to ensure success. As a result, Ecolab was ranked No. 15 on Brazil’s “Best Employers for Individuals with Disabilities.”

We also increased diversity in our leadership ranks. Thirty-eight percent of our Board of Directors are women and 15% are people of color. Globally, the number of executive women has grown by 17%, and the number of executive people of color grew by 36% since 2016.

We’re proud that the focused efforts of the past several years have served to drive awareness of Ecolab’s commitment to equality both internally and externally, leading to signs of real progress, such as:

Ecolab’s Board of Directors is now 38 percent women – up from eight percent in 2006 – and 15 percent people of color.
31 percent of Ecolab’s corporate officers are women.
Our global management team is 22 percent women, and 24 percent people of color – up from 12 and 15 percent, respectively, in 2015.
On a quarterly basis, our Board of Directors reviews our global representation metrics and progress, comparing Ecolab’s U.S. numbers to U.S. Census data. Ecolab’s senior leaders leverage talent scorecards in annual talent planning activities, and this practice continues to drive improvement in external hiring and promotions.

Unconscious Bias Education

Unconscious bias continues to be a major topic at Ecolab. During our annual Development Week, associates around the world can take part in bias training, and we offer year-round access via a custom menu of options. Our ongoing education campaign provides associates with resources to learn more. And because inclusion is a core component of leadership at Ecolab, we have embedded unconscious bias into all our flagship leadership education courses.

The Nalco Water team in Naperville, IL extended their commitment to unconscious bias training throughout the year, while the Global Institutional and North America Institutional leadership teams participated in focused education sessions with an external facilitator.

In St. Paul, Minn., the CEO Action Pledge/Check Your Blind Spots tour visited global headquarters, giving associates – including the Executive Diversity & Inclusion Council – a chance to climb aboard and examine their own biases via an interactive multimedia experience. To celebrate, local Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) held a membership fair, educating associates about all the ways ERGs foster inclusion.

Growing Our ERG Community

Globally, our Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) grew 25% in 2018 – showing that associates find value in belonging to these organizations. Each November, we gather select ERG leaders for a leadership development summit in St. Paul, offering opportunities to develop leadership capabilities and present their plans for growth to senior leaders.

Thanks to E3, our 4,000-plus-member ERG dedicated to accelerating the advancement of women at Ecolab, we have used International Women’s Day to celebrate our commitment to gender equality.

To recognize the company’s progress and inspire employees, E3 developed International Women’s Day celebration activities for local chapters throughout the world. The E3 team also created member-driven videos connecting to the greater Ecolab International Women’s Day theme, #HerImpactMatters, and recognized 24 outstanding Ecolab leaders who model inclusiveness and equality, inspire and empower women, and drive business growth.

Laurie Doug ERG Leader Photo 1 550x310.jpg

In 2018 CEO Doug Baker and CHRO Laurie Marsh joined our PRIDE ERG for the company’s first appearance in the Twin Cities, Minnesota (U.S.) Pride Parade, further demonstrating Ecolab’s commitment to LGBTQ+ equality and the important role our ERGs play in promoting a diverse and inclusive workplace.

In 2019 Doug and Laurie were joined by Alex Blanco, Chief Supply Chain Officer, and 75 other leaders, associates, family members and allies – along with a giant Ecolab soap dispenser float built by ERG members and volunteers.