5 most impactful new European laws for your DEI strategy in 2023
Undoubtedly, the EU has been making strides towards improving inclusion and diversity in the workplace through legislation. These laws are designed to support and empower individuals while holding companies accountable for their role in promoting an inclusive and equitable workplace.
Recently I went down the rabbit hole of reading about court cases, their grounds and their resolutions. My type of crime show. ??
I’ve collected here the main directives of the last 5 years in effect and with immediate and urgent applicability. There are some very interesting ones in the oven, but that's a whole article as the debate is very heated!! ??
I am sure if you work in Talent or are a business owner/shareholder, you are familiar with most of, but anything new you are working on to change I'd be keen to learn as next weeks i'll be sharing success stories and best practices!
Now, let's dig in! ??
1. EU Directive on Work-Life Balance for Parents and Carers
This directive, adopted in 2019, provides for improved work-life balance and equal treatment of parents and carers, including the right to request flexible working arrangements, time off for family reasons, and parental leave. This helps to reduce the gender pay gap and improve diversity in the workplace by making it easier for individuals with caregiving responsibilities to remain employed and advance in their careers. I know only of one example of a company going beyond parents, and that is Booking.com that extended care related pay leave to grandparents. ??
2. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
While this is not new, I am bringing it back again as it’s a good basis of the AI European act (in the making) and continues to be one of the main basis when discrimination based on personal characteristics, such as gender, race, sexual orientation are brought to justice. The GDPR, which came into effect in 2018, is a regulation on data protection and privacy for all individuals and ensures that all individuals have control over their personal data and that companies must handle this data responsibly. This is extremely important when choosing or building any tools that handle employee data: your learning management system, your performance management system, your engagement survey tools, your ATS and CRMs. Just as reminder: companies that do not comply with GDPR can face fines of up to 4% of their global annual revenue or €20 million (whichever is greater).
With all the forced redundancies, if you were impacted, have you asked for your right to be forgotten? ??
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3. The European Accessibility Act
Adopted in 2019, aims to improve accessibility for people with disabilities to products and services in the EU, including the workplace. This act requires companies to make their products and services more accessible to individuals with disabilities, including by providing reasonable accommodations and ensure non-discrimination. This helps to improve diversity and inclusion in the workplace by removing barriers that prevent individuals with disabilities from entering and advancing in their careers.
4. EU Directive on the Protection of Whistleblowers
This is a very interesting one, and I don't think we comprehend the opportunity to truly build trust in organisations. It requires companies to establish internal reporting channels and provides for protection against retaliation for whistleblowers. This is significant evolution in whistleblower protections as here are new concepts to confront such as the ‘reverse burden’ which introduces a presumption that any detriment suffered by a whistleblower is in retaliation for whistleblowing. It will be for the company to show otherwise. Companies with 250 or more employees will be are expected to comply within two years of adoption, whereas companies with employees between 50 and 250 have another two years after member state incorporation. The category of persons entitled to protection under the Directive is extremely broad and includes anyone with a “work-based relationship” with the company (such as contractors, suppliers, and shareholders), paid or unpaid, EU nationals or not - this is just WOW.
5. EU Directive on the Gender Balance on Corporate Boards
This directive, adopted in 2022, aims to increase gender diversity on corporate boards. It requires companies to have at least 40% of their non-executive director positions filled by women. This helps to promote gender equality and inclusion in the workplace by ensuring that women have a seat at the table and can contribute to decision-making processes that affect their careers and the company's overall performance. France remains the only member state to achieve over 40% of women on boards, as they legislative quotas as early as 2010 and it led to rapid improvements in representation of women on boards. Nice one France!?? Even so, with the increases in representation on boards, less than 1 in 10 of the largest listed companies in the EU-27 have a women chair or CEO.
As we all navigate these changes, it's essential that we prioritise the well-being and advancement of all our employees and understand any laws incentivising and rewarding these systemic changes. After all, diversity and inclusion aren't just buzzwords - they're necessary components of a successful and thriving organisations and communities.
Strategic Talent Acquisition Leader | Tech Talent Advocate AND Sourcing Aficionado | Effective People Manager | Inclusion Dynamo | Diverse Speaker
1 年Jason Chang
Director Talent Sourcing&Acquisition @DeliveryHero
1 年thanks Oana
Head of Talent @Awin & DEI Committee member I Global Talent Recruitment I Employer Branding I Career Development & Coaching
1 年Daisy Row
Emanuela Pisanò interesting read
Felizitas Lichtenberg