Make Work More Inclusive: Join EU Diversity Month

Due to the acceleration of digitalization, automation, increased care needs, demographic changes, and geographically dispersed employees, the world of work is being transformed significantly, which can represent a severe threat but can also be shaped into an opportunity, HBLF says.

Therefore, the 2024 European Diversity Month focuses on how organizations take advantage of the future of work and adapt to a constantly changing world. The HBLF will include activities planned for the month in the organization’s May event calendar and invites member companies to share their plans with the forum so it can promote them to a broader audience.

“The goal of the charter is to eliminate discrimination based on gender, race, religion, or any other factor: the programs planned for May put special emphasis on the matter,” says Zsuzsa Gárdus, the board member responsible for HBLF’s Diversity Charter.

Inspiring Others

“Once again, we excitedly await the diversity-related initiatives of our members and domestic companies during this period, which we will promote as widely as possible on our charter website (sokszinusegikarta.hu), in our newsletters, and on our social media platforms. We hope that, by sharing best practices, we can inspire others to create a more inclusive work environment,” she adds.

The Budapest Festival Orchestra (BFZ) was among the first to register its project: the BFZ organizes Community Weeks, during which musicians visit nursing homes, schools, underprivileged children, synagogues, and churches to play music. Their goal is to make classical music available to people of all ages and in all circumstances.

“A band can do a lot for its diversity if it does everything to make its audience diverse and strengthens itself as a network of small communities,” explains Orsolya Erdődy, manager-director of the Budapest Festival Orchestra.

The European Diversity Charter initiative was launched in 2004. It records and promotes the EU’s anti-discrimination and equal opportunity guidelines among employers. The charter initiative is currently active in 26 European countries. More information can be found at eudiversity2024.eu/european-diversity-month-2024/

Hungarian businesses and organizations involved in the 2024 Diversity Month include Abacus Medicine Hungary, AMC Networks Central Europe Kft., Budapest Festival Orchestra, Danone Kft., E.ON Hungária Zrt., ESAB Kft., Hegymegi-Barakonyi and Fehérváry Baker & McKenzie Law Firm, Henkel Hungary, Jobsgarden Kft., KPMG Hungary, Legrand Zrt., Magyar Telekom, MVÜK Zrt., Tesco Hungary, the Women in Energy Association, and Yettel Hungary.

The HBLF was founded by the personal initiative of the United Kingdom’s King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) in 1992 as the Hungarian organization of The Prince of Wales International Business Leaders Forum. According to its mission statement, the CSR-focused HBLF “is committed to promoting responsible business practices that benefit business and society, and which help to achieve social, economical and environmentally sustainable development in Hungary.”

This article was first published in the Budapest Business Journal print issue of May 17, 2024.