Diversity, equity and inclusion

With over 50,000 people from more than 120 nationalities and 40 countries, ST is a global company working together as one team. We are convinced that diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) have a positive impact on innovation and stakeholder engagement, as well as personal and Company growth. 3-3

Accelerating our cultural transformation

DEI maturity assessment

Our DEI vision is, “At ST, you can be the true version of yourself”. To help us achieve this, we accelerated our efforts towards a cultural transformation of the Company in 2023.

Changing behaviors and culture takes time. An important step in this journey is to understand our baseline and build a roadmap with clearly defined actions and milestones.

At the beginning of 2023, we received the results of our first DEI maturity assessment. This was conducted by an external firm, specialized in DEI analytics and advice. The DEI maturity assessment was a holistic process that included:

• Artifact review: human resources (HR) policies and processes, strategy presentations, internal communications material, and employee survey data.
• Stakeholder interviews: with the President and CEO, Executive Committee, and Vice Presidents.
• Focus groups: with seven different employee groups representative of our global employee base.
• Results of our DEI employee survey: from over 33,500 respondents worldwide, with optional self-declaration questions for people belonging to certain minorities (LGBTQIA+, caregivers, people with disabilities, and ethnic and cultural minorities).

Findings and actions

The detailed report and recommendations from the DEI assessment were shared with respective program owners, with an action plan and agreed timelines. Below, are some of the key findings included:

• Our HR policies and processes are inclusive and in line with our DEI goals, but we need to recognize the influence of management culture on our DEI efforts. Additionally, the assessment revealed that ST employees face similar challenges, regardless of whether or not they belong to a minority. As a result, proactive steps have been taken to reinforce our efforts to develop inclusion for all employees. 2024 will see an awareness campaign and dedicated DEI events at organization and site level.
• To overcome cultural barriers, the assessors felt that further alignment and awareness was needed on ST’s position against misbehaviors such as sexism and microaggressions, for example. One action we took to address this was the creation in 2023 of a worldwide taskforce for preventing sexism. The taskforce built on the work done by ST France to reduce workplace sexism: a series of educational videos and web conferences were launched, along with a poster campaign and deployment of sexual harassment advisors at all our French sites.
• Our hiring trend for women is progressing well, helping us move towards our target for the representation of women in Company management. However, more efforts are needed when it comes to promoting women. To address this, we established DEI scorecards for each organization, including hiring and promotion rates, with assigned DEI objectives. Progress towards the objectives is monitored on a quarterly basis.

DEI index within our employee survey

Following our DEI pulse survey in 2022, we created a DEI index in our employee engagement survey. The index is composed of several questions covering different dimensions of DEI, such as discrimination, inclusion, equity, diversity, and belonging.

In line with our DEI vision, one of the statements respondents were asked to agree or disagree with was “At ST, I don’t have to hide who I really am in order to be accepted.” In 2023, we achieved an 81% positive response rate for this statement, the same score as in 2022. We regard this as a positive indicator of the solid foundations for creating a truly inclusive culture at ST.

The overall 2023 DEI index score for the Company was 77%, a slight decrease from the 78% achieved in our 2022 focus survey. It is worth noting that the 2022 DEI focus survey had a 67% response rate, while the employee engagement survey had a significantly higher response rate of 87%.

Going forward, the DEI index will serve as a baseline to measure our progress and drive our priorities.

Strengthening diversity

Diversity is an important pillar of our employer value proposition. Our ambition remains to attract, recruit, and retain a diverse workforce by offering equitable and inclusive workplace opportunities, including flexible working.

At the end of 2023, women represented 35% of our global workforce, 26% of our exempts⁽¹⁾ and 21% of our global STEM positions. In an under-represented technical field, we almost achieved our target of hiring 30% women for exempt positions, falling just short at 29.2%.

Our target for 2025 is to increase the percentage of women at each management level to 20%. As shown in the table below, we continue making progress, with each level of management gaining 1 percentage point. For the first time, we achieved an overall total of 20% of women in management positions.

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Women in management (%) 405-1 SDG 5.5

	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023
Junior managers	24	25	26	27	27
Experienced managers	18	19	20	20	21
Directors and senior managers	13	13	14	15	16
Executives (total)	9	10	10	13	14
of which belong to the Executive Committee and Executive Vice President group(1)	4	4	12	9	10
Total women in management positions	17	17	18	19	20
Women on the Supervisory Board	44	44	44	44	44
(1) List available on: https://investors.st.com/corporate-governance/leadership

We aim to create a diverse workforce that reflects society, including people with different abilities. In 2023, our sites in Singapore participated in a local government initiative called ‘SG Enable’, to hire persons with disabilities in engineering positions. At the end of 2023, one employee with a disability was successfully hired and integrated, with plans for more in 2024.

ST France launched a self-diagnosis tool to help people research their own potential disabilities anonymously, and then be supported through the declaration process. This enabled over 450 people to learn more about their situation and the support available to help them make the most of their working life at ST.

Growing equity

We value all employee contributions and have zero tolerance for any kind of discrimination. Our objective is to safeguard equity in development, career opportunities, and remuneration.

We monitor our gender pay ratio each quarter, comparing women’s and men’s salaries by job level for each country where we operate. At the end of 2023, we recorded an overall gender pay ratio of 99.2%⁽²⁾. While the overall gap is small, we identified some areas to focus on and the relevant regions and organizations are working on closing these gaps.

New parental policy

We recognize that paid parental leave concerns all parents. Since May 2023, women are offered 14 weeks of fully paid maternity leave, with two weeks of fully paid leave for the second parent. Paternity leave is crucial for supporting men’s care rights and responsibilities. Employees on maternity leave receive at least the average salary increase given to employees at the site or in the country that year (see Labor and human rights).

Supporting women’s career development

We are committed to strengthening the role of women in building the future of our Company. To support this, we have developed a two-step training program to prepare the next generation of female leaders.

The program begins with Women in Leadership (WIL) training, targeted at junior and middle management. The training focuses on becoming a confident, authentic leader and the importance of building a network. In 2023, more than 100 women across all regions participated in 11 sessions.

Our Advanced Women in Leadership (AWIL) training, launched in 2021, is aimed at senior women managers and directors to help them identify their leadership style and become more visible and recognized within ST. It is a five-step blended learning training, including a two-and-a-half-day workshop, individual coaching, self-awareness, and a personal development plan. In 2023, we delivered 10 sessions across all regions, training 96 women in total.

This training program plays a key role in preparing a pipeline of women for executive management positions within ST. Since 2015, we have delivered over 80 WIL and AWIL sessions, across all regions, with more than 840 women benefitting from the training.

ST women have been increasingly active in the public sphere, presenting their work and participating in panel discussions at a variety of high-profile events. At the 2023 RADECS European Conference, ST sponsored a session dedicated to women in engineering where the chairperson and panelists were ST women from our French sites. In 2023, ST also became an advocate sponsor for the Women Leadership Initiative (WLI) organized by the Global Semiconductor Alliance. At WLI’s flagship technical conference, Aradhana Kumari from our Greater Noida site (India) won the prestigious Female Up and Comer Award (see Awards 2023 overview). Frédérique Le Grevès, ST's Executive Vice President Europe & France Public Affairs and President of STMicroelectronics France, was chosen to chair the new IndustriELLES collective aimed at improving the place of women in the industry.

Court case in France

In 2015, 10 employees in France took their case of gender discrimination related to salary and career advancement in ST to the French court. After three years, the first instance judgement ruled out any discrimination. However, in 2023, the court of appeal overturned the initial decision.

ST does not tolerate discrimination of any kind. All concerns raised are taken seriously and investigated. If an allegation is confirmed actions are taken. (see Ethics and compliance, speak up and misconduct reporting).

In terms of gender equality, ST has been taking proactive measures for many years, as outlined in this article and in previous sustainability reports. However, we recognize that we have to continue our efforts in creating a truly equitable and inclusive workplace. We remain committed to making progress and ensuring that all employees are treated with respect and fairness.

Developing inclusion

Creating awareness

We aim to overcome stereotypes by continuously reinforcing an inclusive mindset that recognizes the value and richness of a diverse workforce.

To help us achieve this, we provide two main training courses:

• diversity, equity and inclusion e-learning
• unconscious bias workshops

In 2023, over 8,000 employees completed the diversity, equity and inclusion e-learning course, a 36% increase from 2022. This increase was mainly thanks to strong support from the presidents of each organization within ST.

More than 2,100 employees from all regions where we operate participated in unconscious bias workshops in 2023. The workshop is supported by a team of more than 60 internal trainers. During these workshops, participants explore how their own unconscious bias and micro-behaviors can impact their decision-making and learn how to be more attentive and mindful when interacting with others.

Following the transgender inclusion guide for employees we published last year, in 2023 we developed a user guide for HR personnel and managers, as part of our commitment to ensuring a safe, equitable, and inclusive environment for everyone. The guide contains procedures for navigating HR systems for name and gender change. It also contains a list of recommendations relating to dress code, restrooms, and how to communicate these changes sensitively.

Employee resource groups (ERGs)

In 2023, we established a strong focus on setting up ERGs to promote inclusion in the workplace. These are voluntary, employee-led groups of people belonging to a minority or having a shared characteristic. The aim of the ERGs is to provide a safe space for members to share their experiences and challenges, help leaders understand what matters to these employees, and to support their professional development.

In less than one year, our first ERG for women – WISE (Women Inspiring Supporting and Empowering) – has strengthened its reach and taken on some important projects.

FOCUS

WISE ERG for women

The WISE community is growing fast, with some 1,400+ members in 60 locations. Sponsored by Frédérique Le Grevès, ST's Executive Vice President Europe & France Public Affairs and President of STMicroelectronics France, and Steve Rose, President Legal Counsel and Public Affairs, more and more allies and local sponsors are playing a key role in this network.

Since its launch in 2023, 26 WISE local networks and 44 local ambassadors have been appointed worldwide, with each defining their own local WISE roadmap.

A shadowing program, Discov’HER, was launched to raise awareness of different career paths in ST. Several women volunteered to talk about their role in ST, their professional journey, and their day-to-day responsibilities and activities.

Additionally, many roundtables and webcasts were organized at a global level to enhance the discussion around important topics, such as work-life balance or career evolution, and highlight the stories of ST’s inspiring women and allies.

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Following the success of a webinar on LGBTQIA+ inclusion in the workplace, we launched an ERG for this community with sponsors from our top management. The webinar and taskforce creation were done in collaboration with Têtu Connect, a think tank specializing in LGBTQIA+ issues. The governing committee is currently preparing a roadmap and a number of activities are planned for 2024.

Loic Dumoulin-Richet

Project director, Têtu Connect

From the start of our collaboration, STMicroelectronics showed great commitment towards the inclusion of LGBTQIA+ people in the workplace. At management level, there was strong support for employees to build an ERG which reflects their diversity and ways of life. It was very enriching and a pleasure to help this group of talented and committed people successfully launch their initiative.

Inclusive communication guidelines

We recently released internal inclusive communication guidelines. We believe our language and visuals shape attitudes as to what is considered normal and acceptable. Inclusive communication goes beyond avoiding offensive words and includes non-stereotypical, unbiased, and gender-neutral language, as well as proper acknowledgment of people and cultures.

Contributing to the SDGs

Our commitments and programs described above contribute to UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs):

SDG target 5.5 – Ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life.

SDG target 10.2 – By 2030, empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status.