The initiative, launched in December 2020, derives its name from a plan for more than 25% of the organization’s new hires to come from underrepresented groups in society by the end of 2025.
Mercedes says the goal was exceeded in its first year, with 38% of new hires meeting the criteria. Women now represent 14% of the workforce, when before it was 12%, and members of ethnic minorities have gone from 3 to 6%.
Due to technical staff constraints caused by the Formula 1 budget cap, many of the new additions have been to support the company in general, in fields such as engineering or STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics).
The Germans have tried to improve diversity awareness within the existing workforce through internal educational programs such as the Accelerate Inclusion workshop.
The team now also has a Diversity, Equality and Inclusion Forum , made up of 25 team volunteers from underrepresented groups, who meet to discuss future areas of interest.
Mercedes has made efforts to promote engineering careers, especially through the Mulberry STEM Academy , which has placed high school students on the team for internships.
In collaboration with the Stemettes organisation, 34 of its young members were mentored by team employees, while the Association for Black and Minority Ethnic Engineers UK took their engineering students on a tour of the Brackley factory.
The group is also part of the Disability Business Forum , which aims to remove any barriers that people with disabilities may face in their jobs.
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff was pleased with the progress made so far, but admitted there is still work to be done: “In the first year of our Accelerate 25 programme, we have made promising strides in developing a more diverse and inclusive team. “.
“Thanks to a thorough internal review and guidance from our excellent partners, we have been able to take the first steps on our journey to facilitate access to STEM education and careers, and create a talent pool that we hope will join us in the future”, explained the Austrian.
“Seeing a small but significant increase in the number of people on our team coming from these groups is a sign that we are making progress,” continued Wolff. “However, we remain well aware that this is a long-term commitment and look forward to building on these initial steps.”
The German team’s personnel director, Paul Mills , agreed that this success is only the beginning of the programme: “I am very proud of the enthusiasm that our colleagues have offered to support the training with their time, the workshops, the creation of relationships, mentorship and more.
“The team has taken the opportunity to learn from and reach out to these underrepresented groups to inspire and encourage them to consider STEM careers,” said Mills.
“Although we are off to a good start, there is still much to be done, and this is only the beginning of our journey to make the team and the sport more inclusive and diverse.”
