Presentation by Isabella Biletta (Research Manager, Working Conditions and Industrial Relations Unit at Eurofound) on the occasion of the EESC LMO conference on Tapping the full potential of diversity in the workplace: culture, age, gender and disability aspects (Berlin, 21 February 2014)

1. 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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2. Managing Diversity: Why?
2nd
Generation
Disabled
♂
Diverse
population/
workforce
Foreing
Background
Workers
♀
Labour
shortages
Skills
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3. Company examples: How?
Employees
US Steel KoṦice
Performance
Better Life
Motivation
Responsabilities
Economic
Financial
Housing
Carrefour
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4. Managing Diversity at the workplace
What’s needed?
Changing paradigma
•
•
•
•
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

5. Focus : Young people
with health problems /disabilities
•
•
Often with mental health problems (psychosocial problems)
Aged 15-24 years (generally)
• Two distinct groups:


•
Factors associated with vulnerability to exclusion in young
people





•
School leavers with no previous employment history
Young people who develop an illness/injury during their early career
and become disabled
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
Anna Ludwineck
Active inclusion of young people with disabilities or health problems
http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/publications/htmlfiles/ef1226.htm

6. Companies’ practices
Finland
NL
Denmark The Specialist
Job Bank
-Vulnerable groups (long-term
unemployed, young people, immigrants,
people with disabilities)
-Companies in need for temporary,
seasonal staff
De Overstap – Transition
young people with disabilities (18 to 30
mostly with mental health problems)
The Specialist
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

7. 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

8. 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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9. Top Gender segregation
Proportion of women in supervisory positions,
EC12, EU15 and EU27, 1991 - 2010 (%)
35%
30%
25%
20%
EC12
EU15
EU27
15%
10%
5%
0%
1991
1995
2000
2005
2010
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10. 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’
Women on boards: progress to date
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)

11. 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 ♂
∑ working hours
•
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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12. 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
♀ ‘Adaptive choices’
 Ex: ‘old men club’ process
•
Life course perspective
 Generation effect
 Change of behaviour across the life course
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13. Category of PT workers/
country group %
Source; ESWT 04-05
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14. 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

15. For
companies
•
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?
For workers
The importance of all stakeholders involvement
Not business vs workers
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Not government vs companies

16. Average well-being, by contract and job security, by gender
(Eurofound, Fifth European Working Conditions Survey)

17. 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)

18. Diversity ….
…Bees ‘do it’
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19. 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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20. 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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21. 21

22. Isabella Biletta
Anna Ludwineck
Thank you for your attention!
www.eurofound.europa.eu
ibi@eurofound.europa.eu
alu@eurofound.europa.eu
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