Inclusive organization

The Bank has a Gender Equality and Diversity Policy for members of the Supervisory Board, members of the Management Board and persons performing Key Functions at Bank Polska Kasa Opieki Spółka Akcyjna (hereinafter: “Gender Equality and Diversity Policy”) which defines the strategy for managing the diversity of the Bank’s employees, including diversification with regard to the selection of members of the Supervisory Board, members of the Management Board and Key Functions Holders at the Bank. The Gender Equality and Diversity Policy defines guidelines aimed at ensuring that the Bank’s employees are able to manage their careers, achieve success and assess their work on the basis of individual achievements, regardless of gender. The aim of the Bank’s diversity strategy referred to in the Gender Equality and Diversity Policy is to ensure high quality performance of tasks by the Bank’s employees, including the selection of competent persons to perform their functions in the Supervisory Board, Management Board and Key Functions at the Bank, applying first and foremost objective substantive criteria and taking into account the benefits of diversity.

The Gender Equality and Diversity Policy, in accordance with the legislative process in force at the Bank, was adopted by the Management Board of the Bank and approved by the Supervisory Board and the General Meeting of Shareholders. The Gender Equality and Diversity Policy also applies to eight subsidiaries: Pekao Direct Sp. z o.o., Centrum Kart S.A., Pekao Bank Hipoteczny S.A., Pekao Financial Services Sp. z o.o., Pekao Investment Banking S.A., Pekao Leasing Sp. z o.o., Pekao TFI S.A. and Pekao Faktoring Sp. z o.o.

The Bank also has initiatives to strengthen diverse leadership and develop women in managerial positions. On the Bank’s website there is a separate section “Women Leaders at the Bank” devoted to this topic, which presents, among others, stories of women being Bank managers who succeeded in achieving their professional goals.

An important measure taken by the Bank in favor of open dialogue with women and discussion of the needs of this group of employees (women make up nearly 70% of the Bank’s workforce), was the launch of the “Sugar Free” program in 2020 under the auspices of Vice President Magdalena Zmitrowicz. Weekly meetings and webinars, on the development of personal and professional competencies, were very popular in 2023. In total, we organized 36 webinars as part of the Program, which were attended by more than 5,000 people.

The “Sugar Free” program implemented projects related to the development of technological competence, i.e. the “Closer to Technology” project – 7 webinars were attended by more than 1.3 thousand people and 6 closed-door training courses on Excel and SQL, 84 ladies. More than 100 people took part in the “Excel doesn’t bite” training project implemented in 7 major cities in Poland.

The Sugar Free Program also includes a development program for Local Women Leaders, during which the ladies participate in workshops to develop leadership skills, as well as implement activities in local communities.

A major event in 2023 was the joint celebration of the Program’s 2nd Birthday, attended by nearly 250 ladies stationary and 100 through the streaming platform.

The program is not indifferent to the topics of ecology, which is why it has organized an independent competition within the framework of the “Ecology at the Bank” action titled “Let’s be #EKO together. Challenge for #EKOvacation.” There were 44 entries in the competition, which attracted a lot of interest among employees. Participants in the competition demonstrated not only creativity in their submissions, but above all a willingness to promote environmentally friendly attitudes.

According to the ESG Strategy, the Bank’s priority is to integrate ESG factors into the incentive system of the Bank’s key management personnel and to strengthen gender equality. The Bank intends to achieve this by including ESG factors in the incentive system of the Bank’s Management Board and key managers, an annual performance evaluation based on goal achievement, an annual salary review, and a succession plan and development programs to support women’s professional development. The Bank says it will develop networking activities and mentoring programs for women, while continuing to narrow the gender pay gap. Pekao’s priority will be to maintain a balanced level of men and women in managerial positions. Providing flexible work arrangements and supporting work-life balance will remain important.

In fulfillment of the obligation referred to in Article 9ca par. 5 item 1 of the Banking Law of August 29, 1997, and having regard to the letter of the Office of the Polish Financial Supervision Authority DBK-DBK6B.7111 .1.2024. MS dated January 10, 2024, the Bank provides the Polish Financial Supervision Authority with information for 2023 on the gender pay gap, using the ratio of the average pay of women to the average pay of men based on the GRI 405-2 reporting standard on the basis of employment as of December 31, 2023, based on total remuneration* as of December 31, 2023, and including those classified as active excluding those on sick leave of 92 days or more as of December 31, 2023, those employed between October 1 and December 31, 2023, and those employed 0.1 FTE or less as of December 31, 2023:

• the gender pay gap ratio for the Bank as a whole, understood as the ratio of the average pay of women to the average pay of men working at the Bank, is 34.8% for total remuneration;
• the gender pay gap ratio, calculated as a weighted average for subgroups of employees taking into account job levels, business lines, and performance at the Bank’s headquarters or in the network, is 8.0% for total remuneration;
• the share of women in the workforce is 67.9%.

^{* taking into account the variable remuneration paid in 2023.}