Diversity charter

The Diversity Charter is a written commitment which is signed by organizations that oblige themselves to the introduction of equal treatment policy and diversity management, as well as active prevention of discrimination and mobbing in the workplace.

By signing the Diversity Charter (Karta Różnorodności), a company commits to non-discrimination in the workplace and to introducing policies that create and promote diversity. In Poland, the Charter is coordinated exclusively by Responsible Business Forum and held under the auspices of the Commissioner for Human Rights. Since year 2012 Charter in Poland is supported by Orange Polska.

Over 12 thousand signatories in 26 European countries so far, and over 300 signatories in Poland.

The charter is both international…

The Diversity Charter is an international initiative promoted by the European Commission. Thousands of companies, organizations and institutions have signed the Charter in 26 countries of the European Union (full list of countries here ). The work on the implementation of the Charter is pending in other European countries.

…and local

The idea for writing the Polish version of the Diversity Charter came up during a meeting of male and female representatives of companies with the French capital which took place in May 2011. Then, in September 2011 the process of writing the Polish version of the Diversity Charter was inaugurated by the Responsible Business Forum and its strategic partners.

Widely consulted

The Polish version of the Diversity Charter is a result of a meeting with male and female representatives of the following companies (including the strategic partners of the Responsible Business Forum): Aviva, British American Tobacco, Danone, Deloitte, Grupa Orbis, Grupa Żywiec, Kompania Piwowarska, L’Oréal Polska, NUTRICIA, Orange Polska, Provident Polska, PwC, Totalizator Sportowy, and Unilever. Also, the contents of the Charter have been consulted with the following organizations that care for different social groups that are prone to discrimination, i.e. Amnesty International; Federation for Women and Family Planning [Federacja na rzecz Kobiet i Planowania Rodziny]; Autonomia Foundation [Fundacja Autonomia]; Feminoteka Foundation [Fundacja Feminoteka]; Trans-Fuzja Foundation [Foundacja Trans-Fuzja], Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights [Helsińska Fundacja Praw Człowieka]; Campaign Against Homophobia [Kampania Przeciw Homofobii] Karat Coalition [Koalicja Karat]; Lambda Warsaw [Lambda Warszawa]; Polish Disability Forum [Polskie Forum Osób Niepełnosprawnych]; Polish Society of Anti-discrimination Law [Polskie Towarzystwo Prawa Antydyskryminacyjnego], National Commission Of Independent Self-Governing Trade Unions [KK NSZZ ”Solidarność”]; Association for Legal Intervention [Stowarzyszenie Interwencji Prawnej]; LBGTQ Organization ‘The Diversity Workshop’ [Stowarzyszeniem Na Rzecz Lesbijek, Gejów, Osób Biseksualnych, Osób Transpłciowych oraz Osób Queer Pracownia Różnorodności]; PRO HUMANUM Association for Development of Civil Society [Stowarzyszeniem na Rzecz Rozwoju Społeczeństwa Obywatelskiego PRO HUMANUM], and Anti-discrimination Education Association [Towarzystwo Edukacji Antydyskryminacyjnej].

A very important role in the process of establishing the Charter has been played by the Polish state administration, i.e. The Office of the Government Plenipotentiary for Equal Treatment, The Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights, and The Office of Government Plenipotentiary for Disabled People which is a department of the Polish Ministry of Labour and Social Policy.

Independent

The coordinator of the Diversity Charter in Poland is the Responsible Business Forum. It is a non-governmental organization that promotes and popularizes the idea of responsible business in Poland.

Dignifying

The Project of the Polish Diversity Charter is a part of the EU-level Exchange Platform funded by the European Commission Directorate-General for Justice.

Open

The Diversity Charter can be signed by any employer. It can be a company, a nongovernmental organization, an institution, an university or a local government unit that voluntarily commits to respect the differences of all the employees and not to discriminate them on the basis of gender, age, disability, health, nationality, sexual identity, family status or lifestyle. The employers who sign the Diversity Charter are large companies, international corporations, small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as NGOs, and public institutions. There is a room for diversity management for every employer in their organization, regardless of sector, branch of business or size. (More details >>)

Binding

Signing of the Charter obliges to the following activities: educating on the subject of preventing discrimination and lobbing, developing of anti-discrimination and antimobbing procedures and policies, informing about diversity, monitoring the activities and reporting on the effects and results of the implementation of the Diversity Charter.

Educating and supportive

The Charter is a tool for supporting the process of diversity management in a company. It is a map which gives the way and shows different possibilities of reaching the aim which is creating such an environment at work where every male and female employee feels respected and safe and has a sense of belonging to the team. While taking part in the Educational Programme for the Diversity Charter companies eagerly exchange their experiences and good practices. Also, they have access to the tools due to which they can report on the diversity issues.

Signatory supporting the Diversity Charter

Three companies each year that decide to pay 6 500 PLN + VAT, which will be entirely transferred for the further project development, will have the right this year to use the title and logo of the Signatory supporting the Diversity Charter in Poland.

Signatory supporting the Diversity Charter is a new form of involvement of organizations – signatories of the Diversity Charter – in the promotion of diversity management in Poland.

We cordially invite all organizations that are interested in becoming signatories to the Diversity Charter to join the group of Signatories supporting the Diversity Charter. This is an idea to support the further dynamic development of the initiative in Poland.

Each company that decides to pay an annual fee (in the amount of PLN 13 000 net for big company and 7 000 net for medium company), which will be entirely transferred for the farther project development, will have the right to use the title and logo of the Signatory supporting the Diversity Charter in Poland 2023.

In addition, the company – the Signatory supporting the Diversity Charter in Poland will receive the following benefits:

• recognition of the company’s name in the kartaroznorodnosci.pl portal in a special section „Signatories Supporting the Diversity Charter in Poland”,
• recognition of the company’s name in presentations and publications of the Diversity Charter in a special section entitled „Signatories Supporting the Diversity Charter in Poland”,
• participation in one diversity webinar during the year with the possibility of recording and using within your company
• priority of participation in events / trainings / meetings organized as part of the Diversity Charter, as well as receiving the Diversity Charter newsletter once every two months.

Text of the Polish Diversity Charter

Diversity constitutes a fundamental value of the modern society. Equal rights policies and diversity management translate into measurable benefits and drive forward the development and innovativeness of organizations. Taking into consideration the respect for a diverse multicultural society and placing special emphasis on the policies promoting equal rights, irrespective of gender, age, disability, health, race, nationality, ethnic origin, religion, creed, irreligiousness, political views, union membership, psychosexual orientation, sexual identity, family status, lifestyle, employment form, scope and basis, other types of cooperation or other traits which may give rise to discrimination, our organization undertakes to implement diversity management and equal rights policies and to promote and disseminate them among all of its stakeholders.

In light of the above, we hereby make the following commitments:

• To create a corporate culture and atmosphere which ensures respect for diversity, by means of mainstreaming diversity management, age management and equal opportunities in policies and procedures applied in our organization.
• To introduce internal institutional solutions in order to promote the development of equal rights, including the appointment of a person or team to coordinate all efforts meant to combat discrimination and mobbing in the workplace.
• To develop and implement equal rights and diversity management policies in the workplace, with special emphasis placed on recruitment, access to training programmes and promotion opportunities, remuneration, reconciliation of professional and family obligations, protection from mobbing and unjustified dismissal.
• To introduce anti-discrimination and anti-mobbing monitoring, as well as cyclical educational schemes focusing on combating discrimination and mobbing in order to build awareness and enhance relevant knowledge through training sessions, workshops, and activities for all employees, especially including the management team.
• To engage in dialogue with employees as regards the adopted diversity management policy and to notify the organization’s stakeholders – especially its employees but also its clients, business partners, associates, shareholders, vendors and subcontractors – of the introduction of a diversity management model and the result of such an approach.
• To draft annual reports on relevant activities and their practical results.
• To promote and disseminate diversity management in Poland.

Sign the Diversity Charter