30 by 30: Gender Balance by 2030

Linde's 30 by 30 Gender Balance Goal: 
30 Percent Female at All Professional Levels by 2030

In 2020, Linde set a measurable and achievable goal of having females in at least 30 percent of all professional roles by 2030. This 30 by 30 goal was implemented to ensure Linde’s value of inclusion was embedded in all talent management processes. The goal of 30 percent is based upon the diversity mix of available engineering and manufacturing talent in Linde’s global regions. To ensure accountability, this goal is tracked, reported and measured annually.  

To achieve the 30 by 30 goal, Linde developed a three-pronged strategy: 

• Business Accountability: Each business or function is held accountable for an annual diversity action plan
• Training for Inclusion: Linde provides “unconscious bias” training to its leaders and quarterly “inclusion boosts”
• Strengthening the Pipeline Program (“STP”): Linde has identified high-potential employees from under-represented groups and paired each with an influential leader as a sponsor, who will advocate for their career growth and ensure they have equal opportunities to succeed. The STP program includes the following tactics:

• Leadership training
• Networking opportunities
• Exposure and visibility to senior leaders

Hear from both program talents and their sponsors

Program Talents

My learning experience through STP has been excellent! When a company takes the time to mindfully appreciate and recognize the talents, skills and perspectives of others and connect them across an organization you know they value Diversity and Inclusion.  

One of the biggest aspects of being a part of this program has been the connections I’ve made with participants in various functions globally. On a recent trip to Germany, I recognized one of those participants I’d only ever seen on a “Teams” session, stopped her and said, 
“I remember you from STP!”

My experience as an STP participant has been highly satisfactory. Working on inclusion is building cohesion – in Linde and socially. It strengthens our economic and leadership position and helps us to live our mission statement of Making our planet more productive.

Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) is one of the top three actions of the Winning Team Strategy for Thailand. Our leadership team promotes and recognizes D&I leaders and we have communicated our Inclusive Leadership Roadmap throughout the business. We engage and sponsor top female talent through many activities. As country manager, I also have one-on-one check-ins with our Top 30 talent.

STP is a rewarding experience both in terms of content and my sponsor, who has opened multiple windows of opportunity and exposure. The training provided insights into my strengths, and the learnings are now a quick reminder when I am executing day-to-day tasks – simple steps yet very powerful.

Program Sponsors

The relationships and informal networks created within STP are rewarding to all participants. As a company we have demonstrated that we can achieve any objective we set for ourselves, and STP is meaningfully moving our diversity and inclusion efforts forward.

As a newcomer to Linde, I’m impressed by the commitment to Diversity and Inclusion. I have personally experienced the behaviors that define an inclusive culture, which demonstrates the commitment to the 30 by 30 goals by top management.

I think it’s essential we have a workplace where every individual feels they are valued, represented and part of the Linde culture. Improving our female representation is an important step toward that objective. My commitment as a leader is to work tirelessly to support these endeavors broadly across the organization and encourage others to do the same.

In my role I’m not only advising but actively helping to advance the career of my protégé using my influence and political capital. I’m looking to open doors and provide the protégé exposure to executives in other networks.

At Linde, we develop our female talent, empowering them to take on bigger challenges. We train our leaders so they are aware of their biases and can choose to take different decisions. We foster an environment where everyone can bring their best self to work.  

At Linde, we are a high-performing organization that uses key metrics to help drive achievement. Linde’s 30 by 30 program sets a clear metric that all businesses and leaders can be measured against. There is a strong business case for diversity in better performing organizations.