Where you want to be
You would like to make use of diversity management in your authority, be it at the communal, town or municipality level? Then you’re in very good company! It is undisputed that diversity will positively change your institution. And there’s another point: overall, the most people work in the public sector. For that reason as well, you assume a special responsibility to society. You can be a role model! And others often emulate role models.
With diversity management you can respond to the needs and concerns of your target groups. You will also succeed better in assuming social responsibility and enhancing important democratic values such as equal opportunity, gender equality, participation and social cohesion, and living them in everyday life. Last but not least, with diversity management you can present yourself as an attractive institution – an important point when recruiting personnel.
Here’s how you go about it
Many authorities, states, towns and municipalities are placing an emphasis on diversity management to incorporate their employees’ diversity and strengthen social cohesion. Signing the Charta der Vielfalt is frequently a first step; it gets implementing diversity up and rolling.
Organisational culture: The effect of diversity management develops from the inside out, and has a positive effect on your image. Target groups such as the citizenry, service recipients or customers feel that and, as experience has shown, respond positively.
Measures: Diversity management is suited, for example, to ensure the cooperation of mixed-age teams. It provides support for digitalisation and administration reform projects by encouraging a diversity of perspectives while implementing or strengthening an open and agile organisational culture. As a holistic approach, diversity management also supports the statutory mandate of equality of opportunity – particularly when several diversity dimensions are taken into account.
Many organisations in the public sector use the German Diversity Day to draw attention to the topic in their own organisation and to present themselves as open-minded organisation. In addition, it can be a good opportunity to present first successes in your own institution.
You can find out more here:
- Below you will find our handout with concrete measures for diversity management in the public sector. You will find other publications in our media library.
