Showcase your company’s actions to foster diversity and inclusion
May is the European Diversity Month chosen by the Commission to celebrate the importance of diversity and inclusion in workplaces and in society across all the EU Member States. To inspire companies to act, the Commission has made available:
Why a European Diversity Month?
Over 1 in 2 Europeans (59%) believe that discrimination caused by ethnic origin is widespread. One in three people of African descent says they have experienced racist harassment in the five last years. For this reason, the European Diversity Month 2021 will bring an extra focus on ethnic diversity. Especially now, during the COVID-19 pandemic, when diversity and inclusion are at risk, public institutions, private companies, non-profit organisations, and cities need to work together to build equal and inclusive environments.
The European Diversity month was launched on the 4th of May at the high-level event “United against racism – why does it matter for business?” with Commissioner for Equality, Helena Dalli. The event gathered policymakers, Chief Executive Officers of diversity charter signatories, other organisations, and stakeholders to review and promote the consideration of racial and ethnic origin in diversity strategies.
Our contribution
CSR Europe - together with AGC, Axa Belgium, Atelier Jean Regniers, Engie Benelux, L’ Oréal Belgilux, Janssen Pharmaceutical, Solvay, Telenet, and The Port of Antwerp – is addressing the challenge of promoting ethnic diversity and facilitating the inclusion of employees with a multicultural background in the project Business Uniting Talents 2030 (BUT2030). In the task force of the project, partners worked together to develop an ideal model for a structured approach to ethnic diversity and inclusion (D&I). This model involves all the functions and employees of a company and includes sets of actions to undertake inside and outside the organisation to make an inclusive and diverse workplace a reality. The next step is to move from theory to action. In May, companies will kick off practical pilot activities on D&I. Our aim, at the end of this exercise, is to develop a more robust action plan with activities to roll out on a larger scale, contributing to more ethnically inclusive organisations.
Business Uniting Talents 2030 (BUT2030) is a project led by CSR Europe with the support of the King Baudouin Foundation and Prince Philippe Fund. The project is in line with the European Commission’s “Action plan on Integration and Inclusion 2021-2027” to support integration in the areas of education, employment, health, and housing.
For more information:
Project Manager