Diversity

Diversity at the top Act report

In accordance with the Diversity at the Top Act (Art. 2:142b of the Dutch Civil Code), in this annual report we report on the composition of the Supervisory Board, the Executive Board and the sub-top level. We also report on the target figures for the Executive Board and sub-top and the associated action plan to achieve the targets. Because Heijmans is a listed company, the Supervisory Board is subject to the gradual entry quota rather than a target.

Both the Executive Board and Supervisory Board recognise the added value of diversity in a broad sense and gender diversity in particular. Heijmans’ current diversity policy, with regard to the Executive Board and the Supervisory Board, is designed with this in mind. In the action plan under the Dutch Diversity at the Top Act, we take measures and actions to implement the diversity policy and targets for the Executive Board and the sub-top. Target figures should be appropriate and ambitious, and have been formulated based on those principles.

Executive Board

The Executive Board has consisted of two officers for several years. Considering the current composition, a target figure of one man and one woman in the Executive Board is obvious. Reaching a balanced male/female ratio is a challenge in the long term, because there are significant intervals between vacancies for an Executive Board with two members. The appointment terms of the current directors expire in 2024 and 2025, respectively. As there were no vacancies in 2023, Heijmans did not achieve this target.

The Supervisory Board is responsible for the composition of the Executive Board. In the event of a vacancy on the Executive Board, the Remuneration, Selection and Appointments Committee supervises and prepares the recruitment procedure. The recruitment is always carried out by an executive search agency. In the assignment, we devote specific attention to female candidates: of the number of longlisted candidates, at least 50% must be female. The Supervisory Board aims to have 50% female candidates on the shortlist, too. During the selection process, the board assesses numerous criteria and, if they prove suitable, the female candidate is given preference.

Sub-top

The sub-top at Heijmans (excluding Van Wanrooij) consists of officers who are part of the senior management. At the end of 2023, the sub-top consisted of 101 employees, 16 of whom were women. In 2023, five women and four men joined or were appointed to positions that are part of senior management. Five men left this group and no women.

The targets for the sub-top refer to a minimum percentage of women and men of 15% and 50% respectively, which means 35% can be women or men. At year-end 2023, the number of women stood at 15%, thus meeting that target. We will therefore increase the target number for women to 20%.

The Executive Board is responsible for sub-top diversity. Candidates for the sub-top, defined in the Top Diversity Act as positions in senior management, are recruited in the business with guidance from HR.

In recruitment, HR applies the following principles to promote diversity (in a broad sense):

• Working method within recruitment that consciously considers diversity when filling vacancies.

• Recruitment agencies are briefed on our need for diversity. Depending on the specific vacancy, (firm) we reach agreements on this subject.

• The language used in vacancy texts is tailored to the target group we are aiming to reach: e.g. men or women, cultural background or young people.

For the recruitment of officers who fall into the sub-top, recruitment will take additional measures, such as:

• The selection committee will include at least one woman.

• The aim is for at least 50% of the candidates invited, whether or not they were found through a search agency, to be women. There is a caveat for this in that it is difficult for certain technical jobs, given the number of women with certain technical educations.

• Diversity goals such as KPIs are part of senior management targets.

Supervisory Board

Heijmans is a listed company, and so is bound by the gradual entry quota for supervisory boards. There is no target figure for the Supervisory Board. As per year-end 2023, the Supervisory Board consisted of three men (60%) and two women (40%), and therefore achieved the quota of at least one-third men and at least one-third women.

In the Profile of the Supervisory Board, established on 12 June 2019, it is stated that the Supervisory Board would draw up a diversity policy with respect to the composition of the Supervisory Board, considering the aspects relevant for the Company, such as nationality, age, gender and background in terms of education and career experience. With regard to the male/female ratio, the Supervisory Board will act in line with legal requirements and the board endorses the goal of said legal requirements.

If there is a vacancy in the Supervisory Board, the Remuneration and Appointments committee prepare and guide the selection procedure. The selection will always be carried out by an executive search agency. In the commissioning, specific attention is paid to female candidates: at least 50% of the candidates on the longlist should be female. The Supervisory Board strives to have at least 50% of the candidates on the shortlist be female, too. The Supervisory Board assesses a variety of criteria during the selection, and if they prove suitable, the female candidate will have the preference.

In 2023, two supervisory directors were due to step down and were eligible for reappointment, namely Martika Jonk and Sjoerd Vollebregt. Both were reappointed at the General Meeting of 3 April 2023 for four and two years respectively.

Diversity and inclusion policy

Based on best practice 2.1.5 of the Dutch Corporate Governance Code, Heijmans has a company-wide diversity and inclusion policy (D&I policy). This includes the policy that applies to the Supervisory Board, Executive Board and sub-top pursuant to the Dutch Diversity at the Top Act.

The D&I policy can be described as follows:

The Better strategic pillar also includes wanting to become the best employer in the construction industry. An employer where there is room for people of diverse (cultural) backgrounds and ages. An employer that has an eye for differences in background and skills. This is why Heijmans is working hard to introduce groups of people who hardly ever work for us and to bind them to our company and our industry.

Our approach

How do we want to make diversity a reality at Heijmans? We have an internal working group that holds regular discussions to exchange ideas on the theme of diversity and inclusion.

This has already resulted in several recruitment-related actions:

• For example, the recruitment team attended a training course on ‘unbiased selection’. They have incorporated the key learning points from this training course in a presentation and shared this with their HR colleagues. They also discuss the findings with the managers of the various units so these findings are disseminated to the rest of the organisation.

• We have made an internal working agreement to the effect that for all vacancies, we first determine how filling the vacancy can contribute to increasing the diversity of the team in question. We then take this into account when recruiting; our vacancy texts are always geared to the desired target group in terms of language.

• We have a campus recruiter who consults on a regular basis with educational institutions that have an above-average diverse population; she also has regular contact with Jinc (an organisation that focuses on children who, due to their background, are at risk of falling behind on the labour market).

• Our recruiters actively participate in events with the specific aim of recruiting and/or getting women and/or minority groups interested in our industry.

We also carried out other activities:

• We joined the Agora network. This brings professionals in the field together to share knowledge and experiences, make networks available and empower each other in order to contribute to the growth, retention and advancement of culturally diverse talent.

• In the employee engagement survey conducted at the end of 2023, we added several questions about inclusion at Heijmans. This enables us to get a clearer picture of what is going on among employees on this front, but also to remind employees that they can discuss this with our confidential counsellors.

• We have created a ‘Celebrate difference’ visual aid that aims to raise awareness of this subject within Heijmans.

• We have carried out a baseline measurement on cultural diversity within our organisation with the help of Statistics Netherlands (CBS), so we can also monitor whether our efforts in this area are producing results.

• In cooperation with Young Heijmans, over the past two years we have organised several webinars on male/female differences, generational differences, cultural backgrounds, etc. The aim was to learn from each other and raise awareness.

• We have a content calendar that we use to regularly publish pieces on Viva Engage (digital environment for internal communities). For instance, this can include the holidays of various religions (such as Eid al-Fitr, marking the end of Ramadan) or national events (such as Pride Amsterdam) related to the theme of diversity and inclusion. We do all this to draw attention to the various elements within our Heijmans community, and to promote awareness and understanding of each other.

Shiva von Stetten and Kim van Dun

Shiva von Stetten

“The Works Council used to be very reactive, waiting to see what the director would come up with. Now we also make sure that the director knows what is going on within Heijmans, for instance in the field of safety, behaviour and corporate culture. When we do this, we always look at our shared interests.”

Kim van Dun

“The composition of the Works Council has also changed a lot over the past 50 years. You can see this immediately from the photo of the first Works Council. It’s almost all men, with ties and cigars, formally dressed behind their typewriters. There is only one woman: the secretary. The photo of the current works council paints a different picture: young, old, people who work inside and outside, men and women - 40% are women. This diversity is necessary because the Works Council represents all employees.”