At Mattel Everyone Plays. For us, this is serious business. It is a guiding principle for our global business approach to diversity and inclusion.

We understand that a culture rich in diversity is key to business success. It allows us to better understand the business opportunities in various markets around the world, and develop products that resonate with consumers in diverse cultures.

As the world's largest toy company, Mattel's global workforce is diverse by any measure, be it ethnicity, race, religion or gender. However, Mattel doesn't see diversity in such limited terms. Rather, Mattel is committed to a broader global perspective. More importantly, we have a business imperative to think globally. Today, nearly half of Mattel's sales come from outside the US. And in the future, Mattel's greatest sales potential will be from its growing international markets.

Diversity and inclusion are an integral part of our business strategy, and help ensure that we are able to continue meeting our customers' evolving needs. Our Office of Global Diversity provides expertise and guidance, but diversity and inclusion are everyone's responsibility at Mattel. I personally own our goals, strategies, and results for customers, employees and the communities in which we live and work.

We apply this mindset strategically to ensure our workforce is diverse and is able to apply a broad range of knowledge, experience, perspectives and insights to meeting our customers' evolving needs.

Within the US, Mattel's commitment to encouraging inclusion within the workforce is exemplified by our longstanding relationship with INROADS, an internship program designed to develop and place talented minority youth in business and industry and prepare them for corporate and community leadership. Through INROADS we afford interns the chance to participate in unique leadership development opportunities. Mattel has partnered with INROADS since 1998 and since then 117 young men and women have interned at Mattel. Mattel also actively recruits at the National Black MBA Association and National Society of Hispanic MBA conferences, and regularly posts job openings with organizations representing minorities and women.

Our commitment to diversity can also be seen in our outreach to communities. In more than 20 countries throughout Europe, Latin America and Asia, Mattel employees volunteer to support their local Special Olympics. Whether they are passing out water, offering a hug of encouragement, or participating in the sports themselves, Mattel employees are supporting children and adults with intellectual disabilities around the world as part of Team Mattel, the largest global corporate team of volunteers in Special Olympics' history. In China, manufacturing employees volunteer alongside their management counterparts to make a meaningful difference in the lives of local disabled children through their work at the Nanhai Charity Center.

Additionally, we commit to purchase from a supplier base representative of our employees, consumers, retail customers and communities. Mattel recognizes the importance of supplier diversity in all aspects of our procurement practices and, therefore, it is included in our global diversity initiative.

Moving forward as one inclusive organization, Mattel will continue its long heritage of being a committed and inspired outstanding corporate citizen, committed to our communities and to acting responsibly.

Robert A. Eckert
Chairman and Chief Executive Office
Mattel Inc.