UE: Promoting diversity in SMEs

The concept of diversity in employment has only recently become an issue of public debate. The European Commission will soon be hosting a major conference to exchange and discuss experiences with SMEs representatives in Cyprus, a new Member country. With this event Nikolas van der Pas, Employment and Social Affairs Director General at the European Commission, intends « to promote the positive values of a more diverse workforce … (and) to respond to the awareness raising, information and training needs of SMEs on diversity issues ». Although EU antidiscrimination rules do protect people from unfair treatment in employment, all players in the economy still need to implement diversity and innovative policies. While multinational corporations try to increase their competitive advantages with CSR, 23 million SMEs in the EU providing around 75 million jobs have to build or to strenghten new ties with diverse communities. www.conference.stop-discrimination.info