HBLF Recognizes Diverse and Fair Workplaces

Built upon measurable results and objective indicators, the goal of the HBLF Diverse and Fair Workplace tender is to draw attention to the importance of diversity and inclusion in the workplace and to encourage the continuous evolution of companies regarding the matter. 

The recognition, announced for the very first time this year, was supported by the experts of EY Human Consulting who developed an objective criteria system and evaluated the applications. The companies' efforts were assessed along mandatory and optional questions, dividing them into 3 main categories: companies that still need to improve in terms of actions and metrics, companies that have complied, and organizations that already have outstanding results. In the "Excellent rating" category, those applicants were awarded that introduced targeted measures while also monitoring their own progress. 

"As the exclusive Hungarian representative of the EU Diversity Charter, diversity and equal treatment have been extremely important to HBLF from the very beginning - many of our initiatives are related to the promotion of these causes. Our collaboration with EY is unique in Hungary as there are few tenders based on objective measurements," - said Zsuzsa Gárdus, HBLF board member responsible for the HBLF EU Diversity Charter. 

EY consultants also provide participating companies with individual feedback to help their further development. "I wholeheartedly congratulate all the companies that applied. It was uplifting to see how many domestic companies take conscious steps to ensure that aspects of diversity and inclusion are established in their organization. It is a particular pleasure for me that as a professional partner, we were able to contribute to the creation of the recognition, and, at the same time, to setting up a forum through which we can draw attention to the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion," highlighted Margit Farkas leading partner at EY Hungary. 

Among the applicants, the monitoring of the ratio of women to men achieved the highest score on average: some 21 of the 22 organizations that applied pay attention to this. In addition, the proportion of women in mid and senior management positions also received an outstanding score: in 17 of the tender’s applicants, we can currently discover equality between men and women at the employee level in mid-management positions, and the same tendency applied to 15 companies in relation to senior management positions.

The monitoring of pay differences also appears in the operation of the companies, out of which 16 presented detailed practices in this regard. This aspect is becoming more and more important since according to the relevant EU Directive, companies employing more than 150 people must publish a report on where they are in closing the gender pay gap by June 2027. 

During the performance evaluation process, monitoring the differences between women and men and monitoring the composition of hiring committees are less present in the everyday lives of companies: less than half of them have relevant practices in these areas. Employment of people living with disabilities and the lack of employee engagement measurement are also areas for improvement.