European Diversity Month Launch Event

On the 4^th of May 2021 the European Commission has launched the EU Diversity Month. The launch event covered several topics: from the increasing need for more diverse and inclusive workforce and ensuring access to labour market for minorities to why it is important for businesses to be united against racism.

In her keynote speech the EU Commissioner for Equality, Helena Dalli, highlighted that “diversity and equality are two of Europe’s most cherished values”. The Portuguese Secretary of State for Citizenship and Equality, Rosa Monterio, urged for “national policies to address individual and structural racism and discrimination in all forms”. The Co-president of the Anti-Racism and Diversity Intergroup (ARDI) in European Parliament, Romero Franz, stated that the “beauty of our diversity is that what makes us who we are, a union of equality for all.”  

One of the main points of the discussion concerned indirect and implicit discrimination which is often experienced by the deaf community, when it comes to promoting diversity and inclusion in the workforce. It centred around the fact implicitdiscrimination is much more dangerous to minorities as it is not something explicitly seen. The conversation ended with a call for more awareness on the different challenges faced by various minority groups. The examples of implicit discrimination for deaf people come in different forms such as assuming deaf people can’t do things (e.g., drive) or society approaching deafness as a tragedy or as a disease or illness. 

During the event, insights from the private companies such as Just Eat, AFRY and Netflix were also provided. Each company brought their individual perspective on the need for inclusive and diverse workforces and presented their success stories. 

You can watch the recording of the event here.

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