Gender neutrality, welfare and parental protection, training and similar issues: how much is all this present in Italian companies? Diversity Management is it really a heritage of our production system? The development of these themes now has a relationship with the Esg objectives of sustainability. After all, those who study social sustainability address these topics to outline a less disjointed system. Is it right, then, to ask questions?
Diversity management, the results of the survey
A photograph of the penetration of the of welfare is provided by a survey by the University of Padua and the Fòrema Society, in Veneto. Ninety companies out of 630 respondents (41% of the metalworking sector) shared their diversity management practices and answered a questionnaire on human resources management, welfare and work-life balance. As if to say that the capital invested is not an end in itself, but has an impact on social and cultural transformations. The Veneto research was conducted by Professor Claudius Riva of the University of Padua, together with Victoria Welldone, research fellow and Roberto Baldo by Fòrema. “In the panorama of companies involved in the survey, the diffusion of diversity management appears fragmented and limited, despite the fact that there is no lack of deserving companies that stand out from the others,” says Claudio Riva. The general tendency to recognize more sustainable organizational models is there, but efforts still need to go to the center.
Diversity management, companies without procedures
The survey was conducted as part of the Siadom project (Social innovation alliance for diversity management and innovation of organizational models) funded by the Veneto Region. basic data – not only in Veneto, let it be clear – are the wage and contribution differentials that create disharmony among employees. A macroscopic fact is that 70% of the companies in the sample do not use gender neutral selection procedures because they are not considered useful. Welfare as we know it is the weak point of the system studied, with 61% of the companies not offering parenting support services. The fallout on livability, on consumption, on urban quality are all within these shortcomings. Companies focus more on food-shopping vouchers, petrol vouchers, medical-health agreements. The welfare offered shows a propensity for supplementary services to support income, rather than support for the person, say the researchers.
But there are also steps to be taken on training. Are companies afraid to educate their employees? Those that are concerned with providing knowledge tools on the issues of gender, diversity and inclusion are a minority. “The persistent gender gaps in organizations in terms of general and job-related balance, the assignment of top roles and the pay and contribution differentials are a critical aspect with regard to the well-being of employees at work and for the sustainability of companies themselves,” he explains. Roberto Baldo, director of the Fòrema study center. It concludes that diversity management is a human resources management approach that shifts the attention of work organizations towards those Esg objectives that are discussed every day. Research can open up new scenarios.
