Catalyst assesses and evaluates nominated programs and initiatives based on a wide range of criteria: Strategy and rationale, senior leadership activities, accountability and transparency, communication, employee engagement, innovation and measurable results. In-depth interviews were held with the Board of Management as well as with managers and employees at various locations to gain an accurate insight into the DPDHL activities under its "Women in Management" initiative. With the findings: employees describe DPDHL Group as an international, inclusive, flexible and results-oriented employer.

"Deutsche Post DHL Group is a global company that brings together people from a wide range of cultural backgrounds, all with different skills and experience," says Frank Appel, CEO of Deutsche Post DHL Group. "Diversity is part of our day-to-day working life and promoting women in management is a critical factor in our business success. We are proud to receive the Catalyst Award as it shows we are on the right track." 

Launched in 2011, the "Women in Management" initiative initially involved a Group-wide study of the main barriers to women's career development and their access to management positions. Based on the findings of a global management survey and the outcome of focus group interviews, four action areas were identified: Culture and mindset, flexible work arrangements, women's career support, and monitoring. These were then used to develop comprehensive programs, among them dedicated regional activities, to promote diversity and inclusion across the Group: 

• Training under the "Certified" program aimed at establishing a common corporate culture and a set of shared values which apply throughout the Group.
• Regional, specially-tailored diversity and inclusion events, as well as an annual Diversity Week. Global women's conferences are also held and the company has made internal communications channels available to enable platforms such as the corporate intranet and Yammer to be used to engage in dialogue on diversity, and to share and promote best-practices.
• Flexible working conditions that give women and men the opportunity, for example, to better reconcile work and family life.
• An interactive dashboard offers managers an overview and transparency vis-à-vis, among other things, the trend in the share of women in management.

Since 2011, Deutsche Post DHL Group has significantly increased the number of females in management so that today, one in five management positions is filled with a female employee (as of 31 December 2017). 

For Deutsche Post DHL Group, diversity extends far beyond gender, nationality, ethnic origin, religion, age, sexual orientation, disability and other characteristics protected by law. In the Group's Corporate Diversity & Inclusion Statement ("All Different, Together Successful"), we make it clear that diversity encompasses all the differences that make us unique individuals. 

In 2018, DPDHL Group received both the Total E-Quality Award and the European Diversity Award. The company is also listed in two capital market indices which focus exclusively on activities involving diversity and inclusion, employee development and employee offerings: The Thomson Reuters IX Global Diversity & Inclusion Index and the Bloomberg Gender Equality Index (BBGEI).