United Kingdom: companies turn to older workers amid labour shortages Diversity Airline EasyJet surprised the labour market in recent days by launching a recruitment campaign for cabin crew members aimed exclusively at those over the age of 45. At the same time Halfords, the retailer of motoring and cycling products, which employs around 10,000 people, has announced an apprenticeship programme for people over 50. These are illustrations that the return of older people to the labour market – who have exited en masse since the pandemic – is now seen as a solution to recruitment struggles.
Microsoft moves to strengthen its sexual harassment and gender discrimination policies amid criticism and pressure Diversity In January 2022, Microsoft appointed ArentFox Schiff to review the US tech giant’s workplace sexual harassment and gender discrimination policies. On 11 November the US law and advisory firm submitted a report of its finding to the group's board of directors. In it are recommendations to improve transparency vis-à-vis procedures and to reinforce both training and female representation at senior management/executive level.
Great Britain: Yorkshire Building Society introduces a more inclusive uniform for its employees Diversity The UK’s third largest mutual financial institution, Yorkshire Building Society (YBS) has revealed that it has adopted a uniform that allows employees to mix and match their clothing choices (ranging from trousers to dresses) according to their own preferences and gender identities. The UK’s major building society spoke to mind RH about this development came about.
Great Britain: 50 largest unlisted companies called on to publish their leadership gender data Diversity As announced in February 2022, the FTSE Women Leaders Review has called on the largest unlisted companies to voluntarily publish figures on their female participation rates in senior executive and management teams for analysis purposes.…
France: 2021 data show major listed companies have only just over 25% female participation on their executive bodies Diversity On 07 November, and in partnership with the Ministry of Gender Equality, HR consulting firm ConvictionsRH unveiled the rankings for female participation on corporate executive bodies from the 120 largest stock market quoted companies.…
France: Apicil offers training to acculturate all staff to climate of inclusion Diversity By the end of 2022, the 2,180 employees of Apicil, the Lyon-based social protection group, will have refined their knowledge of diversity and inclusion thanks to an e-learning module – dubbed "Voyage en diversitésS" ("voyage into diversities") – designed to encourage them to question these issues and also to discover the measures implemented within the company.
Free United Kingdom: Virgin Atlantic makes uniforms gender-neutral Diversity Whether in the flight cabin or on the ground, Virgin Atlantic employees can now choose their uniform “no matter their gender,…
“#ShakeiTake has helped dismantle the elitist and very top-down element of identifying future leaders,” Vincent Ruf, Head of talent experience at Engie (interview) Diversity In 2022 as a way of enhancing its talent identification and development ‘Engie Boost’ program, the French multinational utility company implemented a new way to identify its future leaders. Entitled #ShakeiTake, the goal of the innovative project is not only to retain a broader more diverse, more international, more female and younger talent, but also to strengthen the commitment of employees involved in the new process. Vincent Ruf, Head of talent experience, talks to Planet Labor about the challenges with the Boost program and its implementation.
Brazil: C6 Bank recognized for its comprehensive LGBT+ inclusion policy Diversity Since its inception in 2019, the Brazilian online bank, C6 Bank, has been implementing a comprehensive policy promoting the inclusion of the LGBT+ community, all the way from HR management through to its customer offering. Its proactive approach has enabled this 3,000-strong start-up financial enterprise to rank among the top companies in Brazil in terms of LGBT+ inclusion, according to the Corporate Equality Index (CEI) criteria.
Diversity and inclusion: age and racism seen as the primary causes of discrimination in companies Diversity Discrimination in the world of work continues to be widespread. Thus the findings of a report by the Cegos Observatory* in April 2022, covering seven countries (Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Spain, the United Kingdom), and surveying 420 human resources professionals plus 4,007 employees. Deploying an effective diversity & inclusion (D&I) policy remains a key challenge for HR managers, and all the more so given that 84% of the employees surveyed saw a company’s commitment to D&I as a determining factor in their choice of new employer.
