The UBS workforce

Diversity

Having a diverse workforce benefits our business. Seeking variety of thought, background, skill and experience, as well as other factors, including gender, ethnicity, race and nationality, helps us understand our clients’ needs and underpins an open work culture. We have a number of workplace policies in place that promote diversity. The Group Executive Board and ten Regional Diversity Boards, composed of regional senior management, set direction and regularly review how we recruit and retain a range of talent at all management, staff and employee levels. Last year, in a number of regions around the world, senior management also underwent a diversity awareness program that incorporated live actors in real-life decision-making situations.

Our 16 employee networks worldwide also support diversity, giving employee interest groups a voice in UBS’s management and culture.

We integrate elements of diversity into many of our daily management processes, among them recruiting, orientation, training, and development. In 2005, for the first time, we instituted a diversity competency across all of our businesses as part of our annual performance management process. We also expanded policies that help employees with families. Maternity leave in Switzerland, for example, was extended to at least six months paid leave. In the US, Wealth Management US increased the amount it reimburses employees for adoption expenses to USD 5,000 per child, bringing maternity and adoption benefits into line with the other businesses in the US.

We also try to help our employees balance the demands posed by their work and personal lives. For example, we have given more than 30,000 employees online access to their computer files from their homes or other locations.