Promoting diversity

at the workplace: a strategy for

inclusion and competitiveness

Isabella Biletta

EESC-Labour Market Observatory Conference, 21 February 2014, Berlin

“Tapping the full potential of diversity in the workplace:

culture, age, gender and disability aspects”

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Managing Diversity: Why?

Diverse

population/

workforce Labour

shortages

Workers

Skills

♂

♀ Foreing Background

2nd Generation

2

Disabled

Company examples: How?

3

Better Life

Motivation

Responsabilities

Housing

US Steel KoṦice

Performance

Employees

Financial Economic

Carrefour

Managing Diversity at the workplace

What’s needed?

• Willingness and clear determination

• A leading figure at the top but even more convinced people all around

• Clear targets, discussion and involvement of all

• Adapt and adjust .. No definitive answer….on going dynamic process

All involved

Changing paradigma

Focus : Young people

with health problems /disabilities

• Often with mental health problems (psychosocial problems)

• Aged 15-24 years (generally)

• Two distinct groups: School leavers with no previous employment history

Young people who develop an illness/injury during their early career and become disabled

• Factors associated with vulnerability to exclusion in young people More likely to be involved in temporary or part-time work

Greater risk of low earnings

Lower training opportunities

Often not entitled to unemployment benefit

Vulnerable to health and behavioural problems

• Health – ill-health increasingly a factor in social inclusion

Active inclusion of young people with disabilities or health problems http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/publications/htmlfiles/ef1226.htm Anna Ludwineck

Companies’ practices

Finland NL Denmark The Specialist

Job Bank De Overstap – Transition The Specialist

-Vulnerable groups (long-term

unemployed, young people, immigrants,

people with disabilities)

-Companies in need for temporary,

seasonal staff

young people with disabilities (18 to 30

mostly with mental health problems)

young people (16-24) with Autism Spectrum

Disorder including Asperger's syndrome

-first employed at Job Bank’s premises

- move to client companies

vocational training, support for the

transition from school to work, job

maintenance

Personal support for those who are in

open employment (hiring a job coach)

private IT company employing almost exclusively

people with ASD (recognising their attention to

details, high learning ability, patterns spotting etc)

2009, 176 people found placement in 2010,

189

200 new clients per year

out of 250 clients 100 are in open

employment,

each coach has about 20 pupils

Direct employment - the company employs 50

consultants with autism.

The Specialist Foundation – providing training for

young people with ASD, youth 3 year education

programme, facilitating job placement with other IT

companies

full-time employment

training during times of low demand

At least collectively agreed wage.

Individual pathways to the open LM

over 50% of clients stay in open

employment for longer than 6 months

providing education for young people but also

highlighting the opportunities for other companies

based on its own commercial success

For companies risk-free and flexible

workforce during peak times

Programmes is answering to the Ministry

of Employment and Ministry of Social

Affairs

Role of the job coach who provides

various services both to the youngster

but also to employer. Assistance does

not stop at the moment of employment

providing education for young people but also

highlighting the opportunities for other companies

based on its own commercial success

Some observations

An integrated approach is essential with measures flexible to meet

different needs (personalised and tailored)

Skills development, training and job placement – often involving a job

coach or mentor or supported employment

After training ensure rapid placement in a real job if momentum is to be

maintained and skills are to remain relevant

Empowering the individual to take control of their career path –

individuals should be able to make real choices in this area

Employers may need support with the recruitment, training and retention

of some young people, e.g. those with disabilities

Good projects evolve over time

Focus : Gender

Persistent segregation

• Not much achieved

Many countries still lacking behind the Lisbon target: 60% of ♀ employed

Medium term: EU 2020: goal 75% employment rate for ♀ and ♂ Not achievable without major increase in ♀ employment

Currently: only 1 country (SE) /♀ + 13 countries /♂

• Gender segregation at all levels

Segregated Labour markets

Polarised Occupations

Mono gendered Workplaces

‘Same Sex ‘Jobs = 3/5th ♀ + ♂ in Employment

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Proportion of women in supervisory positions,

EC12, EU15 and EU27, 1991 - 2010 (%)

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

1991 1995 2000 2005 2010

EC12

EU15

EU27

Top Gender segregation

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But Europe leads the change. More than half of the newly appointed

female directors in the GMI survey were added in Europe. Quotas work,

though more is needed to make change happen. Some examples in ‘How to

engage senior men to promote women to senior decision-making positions..’

(DG Justice: gender equality url)

Women on boards: progress to date

According to

GMI Ratings’

2013 Women

on Boards

Survey

‘progress on

most measures

of female

representation

continues to be

slow’: 11% of

board seats at

the world’s

largest

companies, up

from 1.7 pp.

since 2009’

Persistent Gender segregation

• Affecting BOTH ♀ + ♂ Experienced most < 0 WC working in ♀ dominated job

Less satisfactory working mainly with members of same sex

EWCS 2010 Gender analysis (tbp 2013)

• Complexity : Job quality /Gender ♂ Higher monthly pay / irrespective of Gender mix

♀ doing better : ‘avoiding long unsocial hours’, physical conditions

EWCS 2010 Trends in job quality in Europe (2012 Green and Mustafa)

• Wording ♀ work less than ♂♀ less committed to work than ♂

• Gender gap narrowing/increasing? Achieving equality Closing Gender gaps

Pb: What’s measured? When comparing ♀ / ♂ situations

Closing the gap could be due to worsening of ♂ situations

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∑ working hours

Cultural path dependency

• Gender socially constructed

Intersection of institutional/ economic/ cultural environment

Gender perspective depends on relationship between Employment and other activity spheres

• Gendered processes

Ex: ‘old men club’ process

• Life course perspective

Generation effect

Change of behaviour across the life course

♀ ‘Adaptive choices’

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Category of PT workers/

country group %

Source; ESWT 04-05

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Focus : Gender

• On the shop floor:

organizing gender diversity

via working time flexibility

• Women often give up pay

increases/promotions and even

employment when longer hours are

demanded without making them flexibile.

Flexible schedules catering to workers’

need are the single most pressing demand

from women (but also men) on the shop

floor.

Project in Modena’s Engeneering district (IT) http://www.officinaemilia.unimore.it/site/home/officina-emilia/i-progetti-dal-2000/sonia-la-meccanica-delle-donne-2011--.html

Challenges

• For Collective Bargaining

NO homogeneous categories of « diverse » population

Various impacts for the overall workforce

• For Social Partners

Both EO and TU: attempts towards diversification

Especially TU, the end of ‘industrial TU’

Pb of representation and visibility

• Crisis

Dead end ?

Opportunity? What kind?

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The importance of all stakeholders involvement

Not business vs workers

Not government vs companies

For workers

For

companies

Average well-being, by contract and job security, by gender

(Eurofound, Fifth European Working Conditions Survey)

Concentration of workers in the public sector by country and gender

Source: Women, Men and Working conditions in Europe: Secondary analysis of 5th EWCS data, Eurofound 2012 (tbp)

Diversity ….

…Bees ‘do it’

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Many thanks…..

• Fifth European Working Conditions Survey – Overview report

http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/publications/htmlfiles/ef1182.htm

• EWCS 2005: Working conditions in the European Union: the gender perspective

http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/publications/htmlfiles/ef07108.htm

• Trends in job quality in Europe

http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/publications/htmlfiles/ef1228.htm

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On Diversity….

• European Network of Cities for Local Integration Policies for

Migrants (CLIP):

Equality and diversity in jobs and services: case studies

http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/areas/populationandsociety/clipdiversitycases.htm

Equality and diversity in jobs and services: City policies for migrants in Europe http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/publications/htmlfiles/ef0871.htm

• Working conditions of nationals with a foreign background

http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/ewco/studies/tn1012015s/index.htm

• Women, men and working conditions in Europe

http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/publications/htmlfiles/ef1349.htm

• Active inclusion of young people with disabilities or health

problems

http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/publications/htmlfiles/ef1226.htm

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Thank you for your attention!

www.eurofound.europa.eu

ibi@eurofound.europa.eu

alu@eurofound.europa.eu

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Isabella Biletta Anna Ludwineck