Equality is sluggish

Like gender, age, religion, disability or ethnic origin, sexual orientation and gender identity are among the dimensions of diversity management. This is a management tool that sees diversity in the workforce as an opportunity. Diversity management is still not very widespread in Swiss companies. This is shown by the first empirical study on the subject by Prof. Dr. Andrea Gurtner at the Department of Business Administration at Bern University of Applied Sciences, who contacted 462 larger companies, educational and healthcare institutions and public administrations and was able to conduct detailed interviews with 67 organizations. The study yielded the following resultsOnly around a quarter of the 462 companies contacted apply diversity management. The focus is often on measures to ensure equal opportunities for women and men or to keep older employees healthy in the company.Only just under two thirds of the 67 organizations with diversity management that were surveyed in detail have integrated this into an overall concept.Only around twenty companies also include sexual orientation and gender identity in their diversity management.In an international comparison, only a few Swiss companies take care of the diversity of their workforce, writes the author. In addition, diversity management, which includes sexual orientation and gender identity, is still a unique selling point in the Swiss environment. This allows a company to position itself as a progressive employer in times of a shortage of skilled workers. These companies also benefit by attracting new customer groups, improving the working atmosphere and reducing sickness and absenteeism, and a Swiss LGBTI label, in which the BFH researcher is involved, is currently being developed to encourage companies in the future. You can download the study here download.