Henkel recently announced new scholarship and internship programs in the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico to increase diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) across Henkel businesses. As an important part of Henkel's broader commitment to accelerating DEI, these programs are intended to help build leadership, education, and career opportunities that strongly support future growth in underrepresented communities and diverse representation of Henkel employees, as well as the company's early talent pipeline for diverse talent.

With an initial investment of over $600,000, the initiative will be granted and rolled out over the next year. This investment will include $445,000 to help establish the Henkel Diversity Scholarship and collectively contribute scholarships and internship opportunities for incoming students across the company's communities. The new scholarship program, which will be made available online through Scholarship America, offers renewable four-year scholarships for students from underrepresented populations across the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico in need of financial assistance.

"Henkel believes that increased access to quality education and job opportunities is a critical lever to help close the equity gap in society and business. These new Henkel scholarship and internship programs will reach students from under-represented populations in North America and help strengthen the future workforce," said Steven Essick, Henkel's president of North America and regional head of Finance.

"We are thrilled to join forces with Henkel on its new scholarship program that provides financial assistance to students from diverse populations in the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico," said Robert C. Ballard, president and CEO of Scholarship America. "We have long supported the values of diversity, equity and inclusion, and we are doing everything we can to create equity in higher education."

This new initiative will also include enriching internship opportunities with INROADS and CEE Centre For Young Black Professionals. These partnerships will offer mentoring and training opportunities across a broad range of areas at Henkel, including Engineering and Business Analytics, Research and Development, Product Development, Talent Acquisition, Marketing, Sales, Logistics, and e-Commerce, to students from diverse backgrounds to help prepare students for corporate and community roles. Later this year, Henkel plans to announce additional programs with other educational partners.

"Meaningful partnerships with businesses like Henkel are vital to expand our reach and impact while continuing our mission of delivering innovative programs that accelerate and elevate the development of underrepresented talent throughout their careers," said Forest T. Harper Jr., president and CEO of INROADS.

"At CEE, we work with young black youths, their families, community leaders, and companies like Henkel to help create positive opportunities, including internships, that empower youths to pursue their passions while learning ways to overcome social and economic barriers with an amazing community support group," said Agapi Gessesse, executive director of CEE.

The Henkel Diversity Scholarship program is currently accepting applications until March 18, 2021. To learn more, visit https://learnmore.scholarsapply.org/henkeldiversity.