Inclusion and Engagement

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At Dover, “Respects and Values People” is one of our five core values which define how we conduct ourselves with our customers, partners, and one another. Respecting and valuing people is integral to maintaining an inclusive culture. We are proud that our people come from across the globe, with diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. This diversity of our workforce enables us to attract new talent, keeps our employees engaged and productive, helps us better serve our customers and markets, and advances our innovation.

Our Progress Toward Our Goals

We believe that cultivating an inclusive culture, where employees feel valued for their diverse backgrounds and experiences, as well as their contributions, is vital for our continued success and innovation. An inclusive culture is what enables us to reap the benefits of a workforce with diverse backgrounds and experiences; it is also one of the best enablers of retaining our talent. Our commitment to these principles is reflected, in part, in the human capital goals we set in 2021 and achieved by 2023, as well as the new set of goals we set and met in 2024.

Human Capital Goals

In 2024, we completed our second global employee engagement survey, which yielded an 84% participation rate and an inclusion index score of 81% based on our employees’ responses. Overall, the results suggest that our employees feel valued as individuals, are comfortable voicing their views, and believe they can be successful at Dover. Our inclusion index is encouraging and has informed the development of action plans for further progress on our human capital matters. See our Talent Attraction and Development webpage for more details on our engagement survey.

In addition, we have broadly deployed inclusion training. In 2024, we meaningfully exceeded our goal to train 90% of our leaders globally on skills to support a professional and inclusive culture. We are encouraged by the broadly positive reception the training received, and we believe this training will continue to improve the inclusion index at Dover in the coming years.

Employee Resource Groups

We continue to support the employee resource groups (ERG) hosted by many of our operating companies. These groups foster collaboration and serve as an open forum for networking, professional development, and mentoring. In so doing, they promote a work environment that promotes inclusion and engagement and furthers our talent development strategy. 

Several of our operating companies sponsor ERGs that advocate for women and veteran employees in the workplace. Dover Fueling Solutions hosts a “Women’s Network.” Likewise, our Vehicles Services Group and Sweden-based SWEP hold ongoing Women Speaker series. Microwave Products Group and Dover Food Retail each support Veteran ERGs that provide opportunities for veterans to share their experiences, encourage the development of leadership skills, and help attract and retain veterans in the workforce. Each of the ERGs hosted by our operating companies is open to all employees.

Our Approach to Inclusion

We are committed to maintaining a work environment that is professional, inclusive, and free from discrimination and harassment. That includes ensuring equal opportunity in our hiring practices and treatment of employees regardless of their race, color, religion, disability, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, marital status, age, or other characteristic protected by law. Our Code of Conduct lays out guidelines to maintain a fair and safe workplace and makes clear that we do not tolerate discrimination, harassment, or any behavior that creates an intimidating, offensive, or demeaning environment for any person. These guidelines also extend to our suppliers, as noted in our Supplier Code of Conduct. To help educate our workforce on the benefits of an inclusive environment and drive awareness, we have invested in training across the organization on topics such as unconscious bias and harassment prevention.

Workforce

We partner with America’s Job Exchange on its outreach efforts for candidate sourcing and are dedicated to pursuing opportunities to identify and recruit qualified candidates with diverse backgrounds and experiences, ensuring our continued cultivation of the talented workforce we need to deliver strong performance.

We value the contributions and unique perspectives that a workforce composed of team members with a diverse set of backgrounds and experiences provides to our companies. A range of age diversity is also represented across the company, enabling us to capitalize on the substantial experience and valuable institutional knowledge of our more experienced employees, while preparing for succession and the evolving needs of our businesses.

We utilize third parties and our internal talent acquisition resources for outreach efforts, and remain dedicated to identifying and recruiting qualified candidates with diverse perspectives, backgrounds, skills and experiences. Please see our Talent Attraction and Development webpage for further details.

Developing Dover’s Talent

Within Dover, we provide many opportunities for professional development through leadership programs. We partner with human resources and leadership teams across our portfolio of companies on talent outreach action plans to identify and recruit qualified candidates with a variety of backgrounds, skills, and experiences. We aim to cultivate an inclusive culture that enables employees to feel connected to our business objectives and valued for their contributions. In 2022, Dover's two-year internal rotational Consulting Program attracted 60% ethnically or gender diverse participants and benefitted from 100% post-program placement within Dover.

Dover’s Supply Chain

At Dover, our global sourcing teams seek to engage qualified suppliers throughout our supply chain, including small businesses and businesses owned by individuals with diverse backgrounds and experiences. As of 2019, we engaged over 1,700 suppliers in the U.S. that qualified as small businesses or were registered as businesses owned by individuals with diverse backgrounds.

1 Of US suppliers over $5k in spend in FY 2019

CELEBRATING OUR WORKFORCE

The veterans of the United States Armed Forces make up a valuable part of our workforce. We celebrate our veterans year-round through displays and Honor Walls that include photographs and information about their military service. On November 11, U.S. Veteran's Day, Dover recognizes our Veterans by presenting them with commemorative medallions. Our operating companies are also encouraged to hold on-site events to further recognize our veterans with their colleagues.

In 2022, Dover became a sponsor for Girls Who Code, an international non-profit organization working to close the gender gap in the technology industry by equipping young women with the resources needed to pursue careers in the technology industry. Many of the women who participate in the program come from historically underrepresented groups, including girls who are Black, Latinx, or from low-income backgrounds. By supporting Girls Who Code, Dover further demonstrates our commitment to initiatives that advance educational opportunities and sustain a skilled workforce for the future.

Dover’s operating companies participate in additional opportunities to celebrate its workforce. For example, Dover Fueling Solutions promoted the contributions of its women for International Women’s Day 2022.

Dover actively engages with various other groups, especially in the Chicago area, to promote diversity. Refer to our Community Engagement and Philanthropy webpage for more information.

Women MAKE Awards Program

Dover participated in the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) and The Manufacturing Institute Women MAKE Awards Program for the eighth year, nominating ten women for the 2024 awards. This program recognizes women and their achievements at all levels of a manufacturing organization, from the factory floor to the C-suite, and specifically recognizes women who have made a significant impact on their companies in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and production. The award also looks for women who exemplify leadership in community service within their companies and those who mentor the next generation of talent. We are proud to note that women from Dover operating companies were honored in 2017, 2021, 2023 and most recently 2024 as two Dover employees received Women MAKE Awards. 

NAM hopes to shrink the gender representation gap and increase innovation by providing a platform for women to build networks, develop skills in the industry, and support women role models who can inspire the next generation. Dover recognizes and celebrates all of our nominees within each operating company through multiple communications channels, including Dover Celebrates!, our enterprise-wide feedback and recognition platform.