Credit: IMS Luxembourg

On Wednesday 18 May 2022, on the occasion of 10th Anniversary of the Diversity Charter Lëtzebuerg, 21 new signatory organisations committed to diversity and inclusion at the auditorium of the Maison de Savoir at University of Luxembourg.

"The Diversity Charter brings so much positive; it allows us to raise awareness and show how much stronger we are when we embrace diversity. Making sure that everyone is on an equal footing and finds their place in society is essential. If something works somewhere, take inspiration from it, copy it, it's not school anymore.” said Minister for Family, Integration, and the Greater Region, and Patron of the Lëtzebuerg Diversity Charter, Corinne Cahen.

The Diversity Charter Lëtzebuerg has brought together 251 signatory organasitations to date to change behaviours in the workplace. Requests to sign up are growing and show the willingness to act and to commit more to creating an inclusive workplace. This commitment means that companies must consider many parameters and involve all employees.

A panel discussion on the practices in companies took place on 18 May with the partners of the Lëtzebuerg Diversity Charter, included:

  • Nahima Bared, Director of CIB-FIC Structured & Fiduciary Finance at Deutsche Bank
  • Alexandra Schmidt-Mintgen Chief Operating Officer at HSBC
  • Daniel Danso, Global Diversity and Inclusion Leader at Linklaters
  • Vinciane Istace, Communication & Diversity Leader at PwC
  • Serge Ceurvels, Head of Human resources ITS Europe at RBC
  • Ann De Jonghe, Vice-President of the Diversity Charter and Human Resources Director at Sodexo

The discussion continued with an exchange between founder of On Track and former footballer, Ouissem Belgacem, Global Diversity and Inclusion Leader at Linklaters, Daniel Danso, and Minister Cahen.

Mr Belgacem said: "I believe in the importance of authenticity. It is tiring to have to lie all the time. You wake up every day with a certain level of energy. If you spend half your day lying about your life and who you are, you don't have enough energy for your work”.

Mr Danso commented: "Diversity issues used to be a very Western topic before social and digital media changed that and suddenly the conversation became global and worldwide".